Bells of All Nations

by Ernest Morris

File 03 – Part one, Chapters VIII to XIV – Pages 55 to 94

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IN FRANCE THE definite term " " originated from the low Latin word "quatrinio "-a group of four, since the earliest carillons were played on four bells, while the Rev. G. S. Tyack1 states that the word came from the Italian quadriglio, a dance measure from which is derived the English word quadrille. The word carillon has been applied by the French since early times to any collection of bells, without relation to their number ; it generally being implied that they were fixed stationary and sounded by mechanical means. By the time the number of bells increased to six or eight, a Flemish word appeared for them namely beiaard. This term has been applied to the larger carillon which developed in the country north east of France, to what the French more specifically designate as carillon de Flandre. Used in England since r8og, its pronunciation has been trans­ formed into "Kar-ilon" or "Karil-yon ", without alteration of spelling. In Holland the instrument is called Klok-Kenspel. A carillon is a set of bells tuned to the notes of the chromatic scale upon which music in two or more parts may be played, that is-airs with accompaniment, sonatas, fugues, fantasias, and similar music. The bells hang stationary and are played either by the carillonneur (-player), or automatically. The smallest number of bells to which the term " carillon " may be applied correctly is two chromatic octaves consisting of twenty-five bells. Any less number would be called more precisely a " ", and upon so limited a scale only music in one part is possible, that is-tunes without accompaniment, " bell-change~ ", and single-note phrases. The bells in a carillon may extend in number to fifty or even more. A range of four chromatic octaves consisting of forty-nine bells affords the caril­ lonneur generous scope for the expression of his art. The size

1 Book about Bells, p. 272. 55 BELLS OF ALL NATIONS of the largest bell distinguishes the character and the importance of a carillon more definitely than does the number of bells. For instance, forty bells with the largest of 3 tons weight is a much more important carillon than forty-four bells with largest weigh­ ing say only 1! tons. The carillonneur plays the bells by means of a clavier which is constructed on a principle somewhat similar to that of the manuals and pedals of an organ ; the keys of the manual are made of wood, round in shape, and i in. in diameter ; there are two rows, the upper d · in. above the lower ; the upper represents the " black-notes" of the organ or piano and projects 3! in., while the lower represents the " white-notes ", and projects 6! in. The keys of the pedal are also of wood, flat in shape, and so placed as to be actuated easily by the feet of the carillonneur. They resemble closely the arrangement of the pedals of the organ, and the pedal compass is usually about an octave and a half. The keys of the clavier are connected to the clappers of the bells in a manner similar to that of the tracker action of the organ : bronze wires and steel transmission bars in the carillon taking the place of wood in the action work of the organ. The bells of a carillon are hung in their framework at different levels, the largest bells hanging in the lowest tier, and the smallest in the uppermost. The higher and more spacious the tower, the better is the musical effect of the bells. The automatic arrangement for playing a carillon is similar to that already given under " chimes ", except of course, it is on a larger scale. The revolving cylinder is like a giant musical box, and its exact designation is " carillon a cylindre " or " carillon a tambour ". Tunes are set upon the cylinder by the carillonneur and by periodic changing are made appropriate to the season of the year. In order to secure the quick repetition of a single note, some bells are equipped with as many as five or six hammers. Among the earliest of these automatic players were those at Lille in Artois, Dunkirk and Douai in West , Alost in East Flanders, and Zierikzee in Zeeland. By I 500 large chiming sets were found in churches, abbeys and hotels-de-ville throughout what is now Northern France, Belgium, the Nether­ lands, North West Germany, and--on a smaller scale-England. Mechanical operation of the carillon is an advantage where Caller's rostrum and Lutine Bell at Lloyd's Giotto at Florence Set of hemispherical bells erected on oak framework, with chiming hammers attached CARILLONS 57 the services of a skilled carillonneur to play on the hand clavier are not always obtainable. Mechanical playing, though crisp and accurate, and bringing out a full volume of sound from each bell, does not lend itself to expression and modulation of tone. It is, however, of great value as an addition to the carillon, yet lacks a full degree of the much discussed element of tone colour which the human touch alone can give, an element making all personal playing individual. The carillon like other instrument<> requires human temperament to give the be~t music. If a set of bells is tuned well enough and has a sufficient range for harmonic effects, it is wDrthy of a better measure of expression than a machine can provide. 1 The same might also be said in regard to the English change­ ringing . To insert in a church tower a machine to ring the bells to call folks to service-or a gramaphone reproduction of a of bells-as has been done in some instances, is nothing short of desecration. The human touch is immediately lost, quite apart from the impropriety of such an innovation. The most modern adaptation for playing carillons is the Electro-Pneumatic operation. It does not require the skilled manipulation of the clavier levers, while the automatic paper­ band player needs no skill whatever, being started by push­ button or clockwork release. Compressed air at low pressure, acting on pistons, is used to give the actual blow, and low voltage direct current to provide the connections between the keyboard or automatic player and the air valves of the pistons. The power-plant, usually placed in the clavier chamber, consists of a cast iron base-plate on which is mounted a standard motor, wound to suit the local electric supply : a generator, producing direct current at 25 volts : an air-cooled compressor, delivering air at 25 lbs. per square inch, and the Remote Control unit for starting and stopping. The pistons and cylinders are arranged in gangs and are propor­ tioned to the size of the bells operated. Each piston has an air­ valve operated by an enclosed solenoid, these latter being inter­ changeable and secured by bayonet-joint fastenings. The cylinders are mounted on air receiver bases, and the complete units are placed in the room immediately under the and 1 F. P. Price, The Carillon (1933), p. 134· BELLS OF ALL NATIONS are attached by means of a series of standard rollers and cranks, to special clappers striking on the opposite side of the bell to the clappers attached to the clavier. Thus it is possible to obtain the best results from both methods of operation, the mechanically­ operated clappers being adjusted to give full blows of good carry­ ing power, and the clavier clappers adjusted to suit the more delicate manipulation by the carillonneur. A standard ivory keyboard is fixed, and this has practically the same touch as an organ, and on a key being depressed the 25 volt circuit is closed and operates the solenoid on the corres­ ponding piston and cylinder. The keyboard can be fixed at any distance from the tower. The automatic player has inter­ changeable paper bands perforated by special machinery in accordance with the music desired. It can be started by push­ button, or by an 8-day timepiece. A typical example of one of these installations is the carillon of 23 bells at the Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota. It is equipped with a clavier for special recitals, an automatic paper-band player started by clockwork three times a day, and an ivory keyboard to enable any local musician to play special airs on the bells in the absence of a skilled carillonneur. This is the production of Messrs. Gillett & John­ ston, of Croydon, and similar installations from this firm have been placed elsewhere. Messrs.John Taylor & Co., ofLoughborough, England, have also installed such combined automatic-player and clavier operated carillons at many places, among these are : The City Hall, Albany, N.Y., U.S.A. (47 bells) : Mountain Lake Sanctu­ ary Tower, Florida, U.S.A. (71 bells): Springfield, Mass., U.S.A. (6 I bells) : , Australia (62 bells) : Masonic Cathedral, , U.S.A. (63 bells) : Soldiers War Memorial, Rich­ mond, U.S.A. (66 bells) and several others. Of music written specially for the carillon there is very little, the reason being largely that there are few carillons which con­ tain exactly the same number of bells, indeed the number varies so widely that each carillonneur is obliged to arrange his music to suit the particular scale and compass of his bell. The follow­ ing are typical programmes-one by Anton Brees of , and one by A. Nauwelaerts of , which were played on the famous War Memorial Carillon at , England. CARILLONS 59 A. BREES (Antwerp) I. The CucKoo Prelude Matthias Vatl den Gheyn 2. HYMNS: (a) Abide with me W. H. Monk ~b) Hark! hark my soul H. Smart 3· a) Traumerei . . . . Schumann (b) Am stillen Herd (Die Meistersinger) Wagner 4· Impromptu Fantasia (C sharp minor) Chopin 5· IRISH SoNGs : (a) Killarney (b) Come back to Erin 6. FLEMISH SoNGS : (a) Lied der Vlamingen Benoit (b) De Vlaamsche Leeuw Miry 7· FANTASIA No. 3 Benoit A. NAUWELAERTS (Bruges) I. PRELUDE J. S. Bach 2. MARCH (Tannhauser) Wagner 3· ANDANTE (The Surprise Symphony) Haydn 4· MINUET Matthias van den Gheyn 5· (a~ Heeft het roosje milde geuren) (b Mijn hart is vol verlangen ) Benoit 6. " 0 Lord, correct me " Handel 7· SoLVEIG's SoNG Greig 8. SPRING SoNG Mendelssohn Here is a specimen from the official programme of Bruges :­ Lundi g aout, a 7 heures CONCERT DE CARILLON Donne par M.A. Nauwelaerts PROGRAMME I. Marche Aux Flambeaux .. Scotson Clark 2. (a) Temple Bells Woodforde & Finden (b) John Brown's Body .. arr. K. Markwell 3· Cavaleria Rusticana (intermezzo) P. Mascagni 4· (a) Drink to me only W. A. Barret (b) Tipperary .. Judge- Williams 5· 0 Star of Eve Wagner 6. Selection of Plantation Songs W. R. Heyman 7. Serenade .. Fr. Schubert 8. (a) Danny Boy arr. E. Weatherry (b) Little Grey Home in the West .. H. Lohr (c) Auld Lang Syne . . . . arr. R. Greaves 6o BELLS OF ALL NATIONS The following is from the programme of Carillon Recitals given at Gloucester, Mass., by Kamiel Lefevere, Doc. Mus., Carillonneur of the , New : Han. Carillonneur to (Malines) Belgium and also Han. Professor of the Belgian National Carillon School.

INDEPENDENCE DAY Wednesday Evening, July 4th, 1928, 8.30 p.m.

I. Hail ! Columbia .. F. Hopkinson 2. Going Home, from" New World Symphony" A. Dvorak 3· The Battle Cry of Freedom . . . . Ceo. F. Root 4· Old Songs: (a) I Cannot Sing the Old Songs Claribel (b) Do They Think of Me at Home Glover · 5· My Country 'tis of Thee H. Carey 6. My Old Kentucky Home Foster 7· Battle Hymn of the Republic W. Steffe 8. Columbia ! The Gem of the Ocean Becket g. Hymn to the Cross and the Flag Cardinal O'Connell Joy to the World, the Lord is Come Handel's Messiah IO. My Maryland I I. Star Spangled Banner

Belgium and the Low Countries were the original " home " of the Carillon. There we may find belfries furnished with sets of bells varying from a few pounds to several tons, carillons of 20 to 30 bells are to be found even in small towns, while in the large cities we find as many as 40 or more. During the last twenty or thirty years the carillon has become more and more popular, and large carillons have been supplied to America, Canada, Australia, England and other countries. During market hours, at festivals, in mid-day and everting concerts, popular songs, operatic airs, national hymns and a great variety of other tunes are played by carillonneurs. After the addition of a serviceable keyboard the earlier methods were to a great extent abolished, and with the increased number of bells, musical possibilities naturally became greater. The players of these instruments were called klokkenist in Holland; Beiaardeer in Flanders ; and Carillonneur in France, the last term also being adopted in England. In the Low Countries the CARILLONS 61 carillon dates back to the fifteenth century. In addition to those already given, the following might be named :~ , S. Brice (Belgium), 24 bells. 1570. , Rijksmuseum (), 24 bells. 1554. Saint Winoksberg (Bergues), Beffroi (France), 35 bells. 1560. Mechlin (Belgium), 33 bells, 1557, removed in war 1798. (Belgium), 33 bells, 1544, removed for replacement and second carillon (44 bells) of I83o destroyed in Great War, I9J4-I8. Arras (France), 29 bells, 1517-So, destroyed in Great War I9I5. Lille (France) ? 1656, disappeared about I798. s' Hertogenbosch Cathedral (Netherlands), first carillon 29 bells, 1552, destroyed by fire I584; second 48 bells, I872, replaced I924. Many of these older carillons, as well as those of later dates, were destroyed during the Great War I9I4-18. A number of carillon bells as well as those of swinging peals were seized by the Germans during the same period, and many bells of their own country were also sacrificed to make munitions of war when metal got scarce. To mention just a few :-the Carillons of Arras, Avesnes, , , Louvain, , Dixmude, Thorout, Nieuport and Ypres among others, were utterly des­ troyed, while bells at Roulers, Iseghim and were removed and melted down by the Germans. In their own country it was found necessary to melt down the Ohlsson, Van Aerschodt and Grosse bells, three large sets in Hamburg, as well as smaller sets and hundreds of single swinging bells throughout Germany. Many bells in occupied France, some of excellent tone, were seized, including the swinging peal in the church of Saint Pierre de Douai, the small carillon in Tourcoing, and the large one at the chapel of the Sacre-Creur de Lille. The 3 I bells of the Saint Quentin Carillon were also removed, followed by the removal of the 28 of Merville. In the twenty-one years of peace following I 914-I 8, many of the above mentioned bells were replaced but once again many more--over a far wider area this time-have been damaged or destroyed in the ruthless bombing in air-raids, and in land fighting during the recent disastrous World War. It is impossible to give a full schedule of all carillons now 62 BELLS OF ALL NATIONS existing, but I have named the most notable ones under the heads of their respective countries.

WEIGHTS AND NOTES OF BELLS FOR CARILLONS AND CHIMES Weight Weight No. Note. Cwtr. qrs. lbs. lbs. No. Note. Tons. cwts. qrs. lbs. lbs.

A 0 14 42 22 c 0 6 0 0 672 2 G:)l: 0 I 21 49 23 B 0 6 3 0 756 3 G 0 2 0 56 24 A :)I: 0 7 2 0 840 4 F:)l: 0 2 7 63 A 0 9 0 0 l ,oo8 5 F 0 2 14 70 ~~ G:)l: 0 10 2 0 1,176 6 E 0 3 0 84 27 G 0 12 2 0 1,400 7 D:)l: 0 3 14 g8 28 F:)l: 0 2 0 1,736 8 D 0 0 112 29 F 0 :g 3 0 2,100 9 C:)l: 0 14 126 30 E I 0 0 2,352 10 c 0 140 31 D:)l: 7 0 0 3,024 Jl B I 14 154 32 D II 0 0 3·472 12 A :)I: 2 0 168 33 C:)l: 17 0 0 4· 144 13 A I 3 0 196 34 c 2 7 0 0 5,264 14 G:)l: 2 0 0 224 35 B 2 15 0 0 6,160 15 G 2 14 266 36 A :)I: 3 7 0 0 6,504 16 F:)l: 2 3 0 308 37 A 4 2 0 0 g,184 17 F 3 0 14 350 38 G:)l: 4 15 0 0 10,640 18 E 3 2 0 392 39 G 5 12 0 0 12,544 19 D:)l: 4 0 0 448 40 F:)l: 0 0 0 1g,68o 20 D 4 2 0 504 41 F ~ 5 0 0 I ,48o 21 C:)l: 5 0 588 42 E 10 0 0 0 22,400

BELGIAN NATIONAL CARILLON SCHOOL, MALINES The School was opened in 1922, on the Thirty-fifth Anni- versary of M. Denyn's appointment as Carillonneur of St. Rombold's Cathedral, Malines. It is the only school of its kind in the world ; 42 pupils have been through the school, of which 26 are Belgians, 6 Dutch, 3 American, 3 English, 2 French, and 2 Canadian. Twelve of them now hold positions as permanent Carillonneurs in six different countries. CHAPTER IX

Signa (Great Bells of the World)

RussiA-THE LAND OF many great things-surpasses all other countries for great bells. An account of some of these will be found under notice of that country. Many great and famous bells are to be found in the East, notably in Burma, China and Japan. Not allfamous bells can be called" great" by any means. For instance, the world renowned "" in the State House, , which proclaims " Liberty throughout the land, and to all the inhabitants thereof." The " alarum '.' in the Old City Hall, , was renowned, 1 but has been recast into five smaller bells. The chimes of Holy Trinity church, New York, are noted for their sweetness, and many other Ameri­ can bells are justly famed. The famous Bow Bells of , within whose sound all true cockneys are born ! and whose pealing recalled " Dick Whittington " to be thrice Lord Mayor of London. And the bells of S. Clement Danes in the Strand, London-made famous by the nursery rhyme :- " Oranges and lemons Say the bells of St. Clements." 2 Wales possesses many noteworthy bells, and the "Bells of Aber­ dovey " were made famous by song, as were the " Bells of St. Michael's Tower" in Cornwall. Scotland too, possesses many fine single bells and some peals of note in Edinburgh, Glasgow, Inverary and elsewhere. Ireland is renowned for the sweet-toned Limerick bells, commemorated by legend and tradition, 3 and who has not heard

1 Original was cast by Blake of Boston, it was 6 ft. high : So ins. in diameter : weighed ~3,000 lbs. 2 Alas ! these bells are no more. The terrible and indiscriminate bombing of London in the recenc great War has destroyed them. a See the author's Legend V' the Bells, p. 6~. 63 CHAPTER IX Signa (Great Bells of the World)

RussiA-THE LAND OF many great things-surpasses all other countries for great bells. An account of some of these will be found under notice of that country. Many great and famous bells are to be found in the East, notably in Burma, China and Japan. Not all famous bells can be called" great" by any means. For instance, the world renowned "Liberty Bell" in the State House, Philadelphia, which proclaims "Liberty throughout the land, and to all the inhabitants thereof." The "alarum'.' in the Old City Hall, New York, was renowned, 1 but has been recast into five smaller bells. The chimes of Holy Trinity church, New York, are noted for their sweetness, and many other Ameri­ can bells are justly famed. The famous Bow Bells of London, within whose sound all true cockneys are born ! and whose pealing recalled " Dick Whittington " to be thrice Lord Mayor of London. And the bells of S. Clement Danes in the Strand, London-made famous by the nursery rhyme :- " Oranges and lemons Say the bells of St. Clements." 2 Wales possesses many noteworthy bells, and the "Bells of Aber­ dovey " were made famous by song, as were the " Bells of St. Michael's Tower" in Cornwall. Scotland too, possesses many fine single bells and some peals of note in Edinburgh, Glasgow, Inverary and elsewhere. Ireland is renowned for the sweet-toned Limerick bells, commemorated by legend and tradition, 3 and who has not heard

1 Original was cast by Blake of Boston, it was 6 ft. high : So ins. in diameter : weighed 23,000 lbs. 2 Alas ! these bells are no more. The terrible and indiscriminate bombing of London in the recen( great War has destroyed them. 8 See the author's Legend V' the Bells, p. 62. 6g BELLS OF ALL NATIONS of" the bells of Shandon, that sound so grand on-the pleasant waters of the river Lea ". Strasbourg has a famous , some of which are devoted to special duties. The "Holy Ghost" bell dated 1375 weighing (approx.) 10 tons, inscribed "Okex gloriae Christae veni cum pace ", is said to be only rung when two fires are seen in the town at once. 1 The " Storm bell ", rung to warn travel­ lers of storms approaching from the Vosges Mountains : and the "gate bell", called The Thor, which formerly gave notice of the opening and closing of the gates. Dated r6r8, it has been twice recast-in 1641 and r6sr. Here, too, "mittags" sound the hours of noon and midnight. One of the most beautiful of continental bells is " Carolus " at Antwerp, given to the city by Charles V and rung on special occasions ; and in the same belfry are " Horrida " the tocsin dated 1316, "S. Maria" dated 1467, "S. Antoine" and the " Curfew ". Other notices of notable bells are given under their respective countries. The following is a list, as accurate as is possible, of the world's heaviest bells. It may be that some of these great bells exist no longer, or may have suffered damage or destruction in the ruthless bombing from the air, and in land fighting, like so many nOted English bells and " rings " of bells. Daue. Tons. Cwts. Diam. Ft. Ins. Moscow. " Kolokol " I733 193 0 22 8 TROTZKOJ, Russia I746 17I 0 Moscow 1817 I10 0 18 0 MANDALAY, Burmah (Mingoon) 1780 87 0 I6 4 CHION-IN, Japan .. 74 0 Moscow (Wspenski) .. I760 63 8 Moscow. S. Ivan's church 57 I5 0 PEKING 53 0 I4 6 RANGOON, Burmah. " Shway Dagohn " 1840 42 5 NovGOROD .. 31 0 S. PETERSBURG (LENINGRAD). S. Isaac .. 29 0 I I 0 Moscow 1878 28 I3 CATHEDRAL. Kaiserglock (S. W. tower) (Destroyed 1914-I8 to make "munitions ofwar," replaced 1925) I874 25 0 I I 2

1 Andrew's, Anecdotal History qf Bells. Ancient Horse Collar with BelJs used on leading horses of the pack traio travalling 30 to 50 strong from Bleaze Hall to Lancaster and Presto:>. (b) Horse collar bells

(a) (Centre ) Pack-horse bell (c) (Left) Muffin bell (Sides) Pony bells (Centre) Souvenir bell from Riverside Inn Museum (Below) Two martingale "swingers" (Right) Double Camel bell (Round) Complete set of 36 Russian sleigh bells " Latten " or wagon bells-complete set SIGN A (GREAT BELLS) 6s Date. Tons. Cwts. Diam. Ft. Ins. NANKING, China .. 15th 22 0 cent. LISBON CATHEDRAL 21 0 KIOTO, Japan 20 0 10 0 PARIS (Montmartre) 1898 19 8 9 II! CATHEDRAL. "Jeanne d'Arc" (Destroyed 1944) 1914 18 6 (U.S.A.). Riverside Drive Church .. 1931 18 5 10 2 0LMUTZ, Moravia 1931 I7 18 VIENNA. (Emperor Bell) (Destroyed 1914- 18 to make" munitions of war") 1710 17 I7f 9 10 Moscow 17 16 SCHAFFHAUSEN 1486 9 8 ToLEDO, Spain 17 0 UNIVERSITY 1932 17 0 9 9 LONDON. St. Paul's. " Great Paul " 1881 16 15 9 6! (Ambroise) (destroyed 1793) 1501 16 I 10 8 S. PETERSBURG (LENINGRAD). S. Isaac 2nd 16 0 9 4 PHILADELPHIA (U.S.A.). jOHN WANA- maker Store 15 I I 9 6 LIVERPOOL "Great George" 1937 14 10 9 6 WESTMINSTER (London). 1858 13 I I 9 0 . Memorial church 1895 13 0 9 0 , Saxony. Church of the Cross .. 1897 I I 6 , Canada. Cathedral 1847 I I It 8 7 PARIS. Notre Dame 1472 II 3 8 8 SENs, France I I 0 8 7 YORK MINSTER. " Gt. Peter ;, 1927 10 17 8 4 ANN ARBoR, Mich., U.S.A. University 1936 10 lOt 8 8 MouNTAIN LAKE, Florida, U.S.A. Sanctu- ary Tower 1928 10 7t 8 6 NoTTINGHAM, England. "Littlejohn" 1928 10 7 8 6 , Saxony 1497 10 0 8 5l , Canada. Parliament Buildings 1927 10 0 8 4 FRANKFURT 1868 10 0 8 6t STRASBURG .. 1375 10 0 VIENNA 1558 10 0 Ss. PETERSBURG (LENINGRAD). S. Isaac 3rd 9 13 8 6! BERLIN. Schoneberg. Apostle Paul Church 9 12 8 2t BRISTOL UNIVERSITY. " Gt. George " 1925 9 lit 8 4 AMI ENS 1748 9 0 BERNE. " Susanna" 1611 9 0 8 of BRESLAU 1507 9 0 F 66 BELLS OF ALL NATIONS Date. Tons. Cwts. Diam. Ft. Ins. MEcHLIN (MALINES, Belgium) 9 0 7 9 RHEIMS 9 0 8 2! ScHAFFHAUSEN 0 MAGDEBURG, Germany I702 ~ I6 8 I! TouRNAI I843 8 IO 7 9 BRUGES I68o 8 9 MANCHESTER, Town Hall. " Great Abel " I882 8 2t 7 , France 8 0 MARSEILLES, France 8 0 MEISSEN CATHEDRAL, Saxony 8 of GaRLITz 8 0 NuREMBERG, Germany 7 16 7 7t CAMBRA! 7 I5 HALBERSTADT, Saxony, CATHEDRAL I547 7 I5 "Domina" recast I927 MALINES, Belgium. Bourdon of Carillon I674 7 1 5 OxFORD, England. " Mighty Tom " I6o8 7 II 7 t LUCERNE I636 7 12 ScHNEIBERG 7 IO 7 6 BuCKFAST ABBEY. " Hosannah " I936 7 IO 7 7 RENNES 7 8 7 7! ANTWERP, Belgium. " Carolus " 7 3 7 BEVERLEY, Yorkshire, Minster. " Gt. John " I90I 7 7 3 . S. Peter I786 7 0 7 6 LouvAIN UNIVERSITY 1928 7 0 7 5 RauEN CATHEDRAL 6 I7 7 o! I480 6 10 , Germany I493 6 5 7 3 SHANGHAI, China. New Custom House. " Great Ching " I927 6 5 7 2 DANTZIG I453 6 , England, UNIVERSITY I908 6 I 6 n! ANTWERP, Belgium. Bourdon of Carillon I655 6 0 CoLOGNE 1449 6 0 NEWCASTLE CATHEDRAL. "Major" I89I 5 18 RATISBON I325 5 16 LEIPSIG, Germany I634 5 I4 HAMBURG. S. Peter Church 5 II BRUNN I5I5 5 IO RoDEZ, France I84I 5 IO , Belgium I68o 5 8 6 10 LINCOLN CATHEDRAL. "Gt. Tom" I834 5 8 6 10} DowNSIDE Abbey, Somerset I9oo 5 6£ 6 10} SIGNA (GREAT BELLS) Date. Tons. Cwts. Diam. Ft. Ins. LoNDON. St. Paul's. "Big Tom" 5 4 6 IO! , Canada. City Hall, hour bell .. 5 4 7 0 , U.S.A. Tower 5 3 7 0 DRESDEN 5 2 BoNSECOURS, Normandy .. 5 0 6 9t lNDIANOPOLis, Ind., U.S.A. Masonic Cathedral 5 0 6 9 DuRHAM, N.C., U.S.A. 5 0 6 9 RICHMOND, Va., U.S.A. Soldiers' War Memorial 5 0 6 9 ALBANY, N.Y. City Hall .. 5 0 6 9 CoHASSET, Mass., U.S.A. S. Stephen's Church .. 5 0 6 9 WELLINGTON, New Zealand. War Memorial 5 0 6 8 BRuGEs, Belgium. Bourdon of Carillon .. 5 0 ExETER, England. "Great Peter" 5 0 6 4 CHAPTER X Tintinnabula (Small Bells)

SMALL BELLS OF BOTH the " closed " and " open " style have been used throughout the whole period of mankind, and in all lands. We have already shown their use in those remote days when man first devised and fashioned both the spherical and the open-mouthed hand-bells, and throughout the ages which followed, both kinds were freely used in all kinds of ways. Thus the use of bells on animals dates from earliest times. The prophet Zachariah (xiv. 20) refers to them in the words "There shall be upon the bells of the horses ' Holiness unto the Lord ' ", thus showing that such bells were sometimes inscribed. We are told in later days, the Canterbury Pilgrims had upon the bells of their horses " Campana Thome ", this being a sign or token of a pilgrimage to the shrine of St. Thomas of Canterbury. In the East bells served as a warning to clear a passage for a caravan when passing through the crowded streets of a town, and they also gave a sense of direction to the stragglers, particularly after dark, and were supposed to exercise a spell on the wild beasts frequenting the mountain passes and lonely plains through which the route lay. The attaching of small spherical bells (crotals) to riding and sleigh horses is common in some parts of Europe and America. These crotals are exactly like those found in ancient British graves, which were suspended on the spears of the warriors. The custom of affixing bells to some portion of the neck harness of horses attached to wagons has long been the custom in England. In Sussex and Surrey many of the farm team of horses had bells. They hung on a metal frame fixed to the harness, three or four bells to each frame. Their sound was cheerful on unlighted roads and narrow lanes. These went out 68 T I N T I N N A B U L A ( S M A L L B E L L S ) 6g of use in the late ' sixties ', but it is still recalled that the children · of the period used to run races and start with the words :-

" Bell-horses, bell-horses, what time of day? One o'clock, two o'clock, three and away."

In some parts ofKent bells are still carried on special occasions­ as when the first load of hops is taken to the railway, or when on a journey at some distance from home. Three horses carried as many as twelve or fifteen bells. They were the property of the wagoners-not the farmers-and most of them have been won in contests given at some speeial event (such as the completion of 25 years' service for one master) in the ' good old days '. These bells were tuned to scale, and were cast by recognised founders of church bells. Some such bells bear the initials of their founder inside, near the crown staple. On various occasions such bells have been unearthed from burrows in many parts of England, and some have found their way into museums or the hands of private collectors and are much prized. Trains of pack-horses that formerly carried merchandise from one place to another along tracks that were mere bridle-paths, and sometimes not even that, had bells attached to their collars. The tinkling of these bells served to warn other strings of pack-horses coming from the opposite direction. When the two teams met there would be quarrelling as to who should keep to the path and who should stand aside to allow the other to pass ! The jingling of bells carried by couriers and postal runners in the East announced their coming approach long before their arrival. In places where the peasants are as superstitious as their forefathers, it is believed that the tinkling of bells wards off evil spirits. The oxen in wine-growing countries trot more willingly to the accompaniment of jingling bells, and even the barrow coolie of China likes to hear the tinkling of those he has attached to the of his wheel. In central Asia three bronze bells are sometimes actually screwed to the axle of a vehicle. In Switzer­ land bells serve a useful purpose in the Alps, where the cattle wear a broad collar to which is attached a bell varying in size according to the animal-be it cow, or goat, or sheep. The herdsman 70 BELLS OF ALL NATIONS knows the whereabouts of his cattle on the steep mountain slopes by the sound of the bells as the animals move about to graze. Camels in the Eastern deserts have bells at their neck so they cannot go astray, especially during the not infrequent sand storms. These bells, like the larger Eastern type, do not contain clappers, but are sounded by placing two or three of varying sizes over one another, the smaller ones acting as clappers; or by placing them on a framework whereby they knock against each other as the animal gracefully lurches along. In the days of falconry, bells figured prominently in the equipment of the hawk or falcon, two small bells being fastened to the bird's legs. Shakespeare alludes to these in "As you like it " (Act iii, Sc. 3) and the description of these bells by Gervan Markham in the Boke of S. Albans is interesting :-

"The bells which your hawk shall wear, look in anywise that they be not too heavy, whereby they overload her, neither that one be heavier than the other, but both of like weight : look also that they be well-sounding and shrill, yet not both of one sound, but one at least a note above the other ".

Small silver bells were also given in some instances as prizes at school cock-fights. From a remote period down to compara­ tively modern times, schoolrooms were turned into cockpits, masters and pupils enjoying this cruel pastime. References are made of the practice at Sedbergh Grammar School, at Kendal, Grange-over-Sands, Haversham, Congleton and elsewhere. At Wreay near Carlisle, their silver bell bears the inscription :­ " Wreay-Chapple 1655" which is remarkable, for it is the year after Cromwell prohibited cock-fighting. The practice existed at many schools in Scotland. Mr. Basil Tozer's book on horses states that 300 years ago, silver bells were awarded to the winners of horse races, and even earlier we find at Chester an order (dated 1o Jan., 15 71) which provided for the saddler's ball of silk being changed for a silver bell as the prize for the winning horse. At Carlisle two such bells were given to the Mayor and Corporation by Lady Dacre, wife of Sir Wm. Dacre, then Governor of that city. The smaller of the two is of silver inscribed :-" 1599. H.B. M.C.", TINTINNA B U LA (SMALL BELLS) 7I initials of Henry Baines, Mayor of Carlisle. The larger one is of silver-gilt, inscribed :- " The swiftes horse thes bel to tak for mi lade daker sake ". A silver bell of early period was awarded at Haddington, in 1552, and another at Paisley, 1608. Bells of similar kind are referred to at York as early as 1530, and in 1607, mention is made of a golden bell : while similar instances occur at Richmond, Yorks., and elsewhere. Many of the altogether secular uses of bells have gone out of fashion-many remain. The dustman's bell has vanished, the town crier's bell (Oyez ! Oyez ! Oyez !) is banished except for a few isolated places. In most towns the muffin-bell seems extinct, but the bell exists. Then there are still railway bells, dock bells, half-hour bells at sea, and the stage bell. House bells worked by wires are scarcely a century old, but ropes are now almost superseded, and old bell-pulls still found in country houses have yielded to spring handles, which in their turn are disappear­ ing in favour of electric button bells : indeed the whole of our secular life is somehow set to bells, even as the religious life of our ancestors was. What with the dinner bell, the yard bell, school, factory and jail bells, not to forget baby's coral and. bells, bell rattles and the like. Bells are the landmarks of history as well as the daily reminders to our religious and secular life. 1

1 Rev. H. R. Haweis, M.A., Bells,History and Romance (Gouvernour Morrison), p. 76 CHAPTER XI Bells of the Ocean

PART OF THE " FURNITURE " of every sea-going vessel (and also many of our river steamers), is a bell, which is used to mark the flight of time. It is also used by its clanging to announce the starting of the ship. The flight of time at sea is marked by a number of strokes on a bell hung usually near the mizen mast, or in the forecastle. The whole day is divided into seven watches, five of four hours each, and two " dog-watches " of two hours each. At the end of each half-hour a bell rings, telling by the number of strokes how many of the half-hours constituting that particular watch has elapsed. Thus " three bells " does not of itself indicate the time of the day, but simply that three half­ hours of the watch have passed. Many of the ship bells find quite unexpected resting places after the decease of the parent ship, and, sometimes after a strenuous and honourable career on the seven seas, they may be found still doing valuable service in other spheres. Thus for instance, the historic bell at Uoyd's known as the " Lutine Bell " began life as the ship's bell of the French Frigate La Lutine, which was subsequently captured by Admiral Duncan. The story is well known. In October, 1799, the Lutine was wrecked at the entrance to the Zuyder Zee, while carrying specie from England to Ham­ burg..._ Lloyd's eventually acquired salvage rights, and in 1858 the bell was recovered. Since that time it has been mounted and preserved at Lloyd's, 'and is now rung to announce the arrival of a vessel that is overdue, and has been presumed to have been lost. Other instances of ship bells serving in unusual places might be quoted, such as that of the old warship Lion which, during the Great War 1914-18, was used to muster special constables at Falmouth. One would hardly expect to find a ship's bell serving as a 72 The Guthrie Bell Shrine with rusted bell inside St. Patrick's Bell Shrine, front and back - Tower for Ringing Peal.

OBSERVATIONS.

a Roof openint for ~xit of sound

c. No louvre.s in windows.

d. Window sill$ appreciably above main tirders.

Girders on thicker part of tower, namely, thr .set--off.

I Bellchamber floor below and inde~ndent of main bellframe girdera. d Level ofwindow sill

J1. Intermediate chamber, acting primardy as a s.ound-deadenin,g chamMr, SUitable position for a clock. The floor gf this 40' chamber to be entirely independtmt of f I bel/chamber floor. j T h. Ringing chamber to be well lit and vrn­ 13'0' li{al.rd; the windows preferably above the ringer•' line of &ilht.

j. Provision for hatchway& in all floors.

h t

366'

$:j~'R ~ 1J ... ~ Tower f or RinJ1ing Bells- Secfl'on showing advisable arrangement. Ringing the changes- English style BELLS OF THE OCEAN 73 , yet quite a number have been doing such service for many years in Scotland and elsewhere. At Durness church, Lairg, Sutherland, is one inscribed : " William I 782 ", and its history says that the ship William ran ashore on the shallow sands at Bakakiel Bay below the ancient Parish Church of Durness. All the menfolk were away from home fishing, so the women helped to remove the sand away from the ship, which, when the tide arose, was able to refloat. In return for their services the captain presented them with the ship's bell. Until quite recently the Cathedral at Iona was served by a ship's bell, while at Stonehaven, Kincardineshire, the bell formerly used was that of a wrecked Norwegian vessel. At Durris an old bell inscribed " Fortune" is used, and at Fetteresso the bell used as the church bell was fished up from the sea in I 84 7. At Sutton Bridge, Lincolnshire, where an armament training centre of the R.A.F. was stationed, there is a one-time ship bell serving as the church bell ; and at St. George's church, Oldham Road, Manchester, is a bell from the Bremen steamer Rheim, dated I868. The chapel of St. John-without-the-Northgate, or Little S. John, Chester has a bell-the ship's bell of the Union Castle Liner Galeka, which was presented by Sir Owen Philipps, G.C.M.G., M.P., in Igi8, in honour of the boy ofthe Blue Coat Hospital who fell in the Great War I9I4-I8. In the Scilly Islands the five churches had one bell each, four of which appear to have been former ships bells. The chapel of St. Endock, Minver, Cornwall, purchased the bell of the Im­ morcolata, ofBarlatte, after it had been driven on the rocks in 1875· At J evington, Sussex, one of the bells is inscribed :-" W. Gyles, Captain, John Wood made me r6g8 ", and Mr. A. Daniell­ Tyssem remarks, " Is this a bell picked up from a wreck in a similar way to the bell at Berwick?" A most unusual place to find a ship's bell is in a Japanese Temple, and even registered as a national treasure of that country ! Yet at Shunko-in, one of the subsidiary temples of the Mioshin-ji, possesses one which is claimed to be the bell of Namban-ji. It is unquestionably of Western manufacture, for it is rung with a clapper instead of being struck from the outside, as in the case of all Eastern bells. On its waist in low-relief is 74 BELLS OF ALL NATIONS the date I577, and three repetitions of a device consisting of the sacred monogram" I.H.S." surmounted by a cross with the three sacred nails below. This bell was taken to Korea by the Lord of Sendai at the time of Hideyoshi's invasion of that country, and used as a ship's bell, being brought back again at the conclusion of the expedition. The writer frequently receives from the Admiralty notice of the sale of ships' bells from British warships, many of them with historic associations, and one wonders where these relics will end their days. Some may serve as house-bells, warning-bells, or even factory· bells ! In the latter low estate the bell of a famous Blackwall liner is now doing duty. The bell of the once well­ known liner Lord Gough is now on the stage at Eastham on the Mersey : whilst that of the Royal Charles, which sank off the coast with £35o,ooo is now at Lord Boston's castle in Anglesey. The bell of the original Britannic (I 870) is preserved by the White Star Line. The bell of the La Marguerita, the ship that conveyed the City of London Rifles to France, is now to be found at their headquarters in Farringdon Street, London. The bell of the steamship Penfol is still in service, although the parent ship no longer exists : it is used to summon the ferryman at Mylor, Cornwall. In I930 the memorial trophy of the R.N.V.R. was erected at the Crystal Palace, London, and this consists of a ship's bell hung between two dolphins, with a plaque of H.M.S. Victory beneath. At the League of Remembrance headquarters in London, a ship's bell serves to mark the passing hours. The bell of H. M.S. Canterbury which has been through tempest and battle (the cruiser of this name was present at the battle of Jutland), now rests in the peaceful surroundings of Canterbury Cathedral. An impressive service, attended by five thousand seafarers was held in the Cathedral on June gth, I934, when the bell was presented. Admiral Sir Percy Royds, who commanded the Canterbury during the Great War I9I4-I8, struck six bells, the Psalm beginning " They that go down to the sea in ships " was sung, and the famous anthem by Tennyson " Crossing the Bar" was chanted. Now every morning at I I o'clock, a serving or re­ tired seafarer strikes six bells on the Canterbury bell, this to remind all seafarers that the longest voyage and the strongest BELLS OF THE OCEAN 75 gale come to an end. Also just as the Army has its "Unknown Warrior", so the Navy has a permanent memorial to those who gave their lives. A bell that had a chequered history is that of the German cruiser Emden. This vessel was launched in I goB, and during the Great War did much damage to British and Allied commerce. It was while convoying Australian troops to England that the Australian cruiser Sydney learned that the Emden was at Cocos Island, and drove her ashore at North Keeling Island on Nov. gth, 1914, destroying her with the loss of 230 of her crew. Com. mander Muller, who was among those saved, and who had put up a gallant defence, was allowed to retain his sword. This was the first actual fighting done by any ship of the Australian Navy, and relics from the Emden were distributed to various cities in Australia. The bell, broken and battle-scarred, was displayed in the Garden Island Navy Depot, Sydney. In 1932 it mysteri­ ously vanished, but later was discovered buried in Hyde Park, Sydney. For safety it was then placed in the museum, yet even so was stolen again on April 28th, 1933· Eventually a young German was sentenced to imprisonment on a charge of stealing the bell. Mter such an adventurous career the bell was eventu· ally restored to the German people by the Hon. Stanley Bruce, Australia's High Commissioner in London, who made a special journey to Germany for the purpose. The bell of the German battleship Hindenburg sunk at Scapa Flow, was restored to the German Navy. It was carried over by the British crusier Neptune on Aug. 3rd, 1936, in recognition of the graceful a~t in restoring the drums of the Gordon Highlanders. At the Baltic Mercantile and Shipping Exchange, London, .is preserved a bell inscribed " Ceres I 729" and a brass tablet records " This bell was washed ashore at St. Columb, Porth, Cornwall, I929·". Preserved in the Mission Inn Museum, , is a bell from the cruiser Don Juan de Austria inscribed with that name and the words " Crucero I 88g " and " Caraca ". This cruiser was one of the Spanish Squadron captured in Manila Bay on May Ist, I8g8, by Admiral Dewey in the Spanish-American War. With other ships, this cruiser was burned after the battle, and the Philippine Islands became an American possession. BELLS OF ALL NATIONS

It has been found advisable in several instances around the coasts to supplement the strong light of the lighthouse by the sonorous tones of a bell, so that even if the fog muffies the former, the sound of the latter may warn the mariner of impending

A more effectual lighthouse was erected in 1811, but the name of Bell Rock is still often given to the place, and the primitive use ·of the bell has not been abandoned. Two bells are rung by machinery during foggy weather, tolling regularly every half­ minute. CHAPTER XII Campaniles (Bell Towers)

CAMPANILES OR BELL ToWERs, used in connection with churches or town halls, are sometimes attached to the building, and some­ times stand quite independent. Both among the Greeks and Romans towers were in use. In the south of the Peloponnesus at Messena, at Phigalia in the isle of Andros, and at Paestum, there are well constructed towers both round and square, several of which are in a fair state of preservation. Many Roman towers remain-a round tower at Perigueux, a square tower outside Autun, and the Pharos at Dover. It has been supposed, however, that bells of large dimensions, and belfries to carry them, were not employed in Western Europe till late. This is an error. Fleury (La Messe) has proved definitely from documents that bells of large size and towers to hold them were in use in the 6th century. To that century perhaps belong several towers of Ravenna, mostly round, but some square. A mosiac of 432 to 440 in S. Maria Maggiore, Rome, shows two churches near which are round towers. On the doors of S. Sabina, Rome, which are early fifth century, is shown a church with two western towers. Two low western towers were built in the Syrian church of Tourmanin and Qualb Louzeh. Dating from the seventh to tenth centuries are campaniles at the churches of S. Apollinare in Classe, and S. Apollinare Nuovo at Ravenna. These are simply round towers without decorations, and with small, round, arched openings in pairs near the top. ' OfRomanesque towers, one of the oldest is that of S. Satiro, Milan, A.D. 879 : of campanile type of four storeys with central­ balustered window, piliaster strips at the angles by way of buttresses, and a rudimentary kind of nebule corbel table under 77 BELLS OF ALL NATIONS each of the three strings. There are many fine campaniles in Rome of early date. The Irish round towers are also of very early date-from 890 to 1238. The usual type of square campanile appears frequently from the tenth century onwards, and was apparently developed simultaneously in Rome and Lombardy. It is generally decorated by means of projecting vertical strips-known as pilaster strips-and ranges of arcaded cornice which divide the tower into stages. Each stage has openings on all four sides. The roof of early examples is usually of a low pitch pyramid, invisible from below. This remained the Roman type through­ out the Middle Ages, although variations occurred. Important examples are S. Prassede ( 1080), Santa Quattro Incoronati (r 123), and S. Maria in Trastevere (r 139). The Lombards were a tower building people, and they found in the campanile a great opportunity. The early towers of S. Satiro in Milan oflate ninth century already show an advanced composition of horizontal stages, arcaded cornices and arched openings. In the later and much larger Campanile of St. Ambrozio in Milan-early eleventh century-semi-circular projections like engaged columns break up the stages and give additional vertical lines. The Campanili or bell towers of Venice are among its most striking features. These were at one time more numerous than they are to-day, but earthquakes and subsidences of foundations have brought down many, the latest being the great tower of San Marco itself (see page 137). This was rebuilt, as were a few others, for instance San Giorgio Maggiore : but for the most part they were not replaced. The Venetian campanili usually stands detached from the church, and is almost invariably square in plain brick shaft, and not broken into storeys with grouped windows, as in the case of Lombardic towers. Above the shaft comes the arcaded bell-chamber, frequently built of Istrian stone, and above again is the attic, either round, square or octagonal. This carries a cone, pyramid or cupola. Among existing campanili the oldest is San Geremia, dating from the eleventh century: San Samulle, from the twelfth: San Barnaba and San Laccaria from the thirteenth. The famous leaning tower of Pisa, begun in I I 74 by Bannano, and completed in 1350, is 179 feet high, and leans more than r6 C A M P A N I L E S ( B E L L T 0 W E R S ) 79 feet out of the perpendicular. The walls at its base are 13 feet thick, at the top about half as much. It is constructed through­ out of marble. The eighth storey contains the bells, and is much smaller m diameter than the rest of the tower. Arnolfo's palace, the well known Pallazzo Vecchio was built in 1298. Its slender bell tower, boldly set forward on a pro­ jecting cornice, rises to a height of 308 feet. Every Italian tower from Venice, Florence and Siena down to the humblest munici­ pality, has its town house and bell-tower to proclaim its corporate existence and civic freedom. The great bell of the town in the campanile on the public palace, was the tongue of an Italian commune. At its sound the burghers hurried to the assembly in the Prazza, or to the muster for war : as did the clerks who rushed to the fray at the sound of the great bell of St. Mary's at Oxford, and the townsmen at that of the bell of St. Martin's. When Charles VIII in Florenae threatened to sound his trumpets if his conditions were refused, Pietro Capponi started up, tore the conditions and said, " Sound your trumpets, and we will ring our bells ", and this was enough to silence the Frenchman. The Palazzo Comunale of Siena is one of the most interest­ ing. The lofty tower was built between 1325 and 1345. It has a projecting gallery on corbels surmounted by a smaller turret for the bells, like Arnolfo's Campanile at Florence. In Northern Europe, Belgium, Holland, France and Germany, are many lofty campaniles-bell-towers devoted almost entirely to carillons of world-wide fame. Sometimes these are attached to cathedrals and churches, sometimes to Hotel-de-Ville or Town Hall, in other cases completely detached. Many of these lofty buildings are themselves of exquisite architectural beauty. Amersfort and ; V eere and ; Delft and Rotterdam; Louvain and Ypres; Antwerp and Malines, Bruges and many others, are all perfect in their setting. By their proportions and strength, by their domination of the scene, they satisfy the eye, even before the melody of the bells comes to please the ear,l In France we have documentary evidence of the existence of the towers in very early times, e.g. at S. Martin Tours, conse­ crated in A.D. 477 : one of grand design at Nantes, consecrated 1 W. Gordon Rice, Carillons of Belgium and Holland. Bo BELLS OF ALL NATIONS by S. Felix A.D. 550 to 6oo; one at Narbonne, so lofty that Aleric II had its upper stage demolished because it blocked the view from his palace ! one at Bordeaux built in A.D. 550. At Douai, Arras, Lille, Cambrai and Dunkirk, and here and there in the border towns of Western Germany as at Malmedy and Duren, bell towers have existed for ages, and many posse~s their full complement of bells. As with the Italian examples before mentioned, these Flemish towers were symbols of municipal freedom, and represented to the eye and ear the idea of civic solidarity. Grant Allen, in European Tour analysing the character of the art in Belgium remarks:- " These Flemish belfries are in themselves very interesting relics, because they were the first symbols of corporate existence and municipal power which every town wished to erect in the Middle Ages. The use of the bell was to summon the citizens to arms in defence of their rights, or to counsel for their common liberties. Every Teutonic burgher community desired to wring the right of erecting such a belfry from its feudal lord : and those of Bruges and Ghent are still majestic memorials of the freedom-loving wool-staplers of the thirteenth century. By the side of the Belfry stands the Cloth Hall, representing the trade from which the town derived its wealth." The crown of every belfry was a carillon, and these were the proud possession of every prosperous community. And to-day, wherever the carillon may hang, its bells belong to the town, and the bell-master is a municipal officer. Mr. Gordon Rice 1 says that he never fou'nd a place in either country where the tower and carillon in which it hung, even though it be a church spire, which was not under the control and maintenance of the muni­ cipal authorities. It is true that in some instances carillons are played and often the greater separate bells are rung for church services, or in religious functions, but always the dominating power in the management of the bells is civic, and the religious element is entirely subordinate. A peculiarity in respect to Scottish steeples in the towns is that they are frequently the property, not of the church, but of the municipality. The bells in these cases belong to the civic

1 Carillons of Belgium and Holland. C AM P AN I L E S ( B E L L T 0 WE R S) 81 authorities, and are used by them for civic purposes during weekdays, though the church has the use of them on Sundays. It was not unusual in times past for the burgh to advance money towards the cost of steeple and bells, hence the present state of affairs. , Dundee, Forfar, Montrose, Peebles and Stirling all supply instances of this. At Berwick-on-Tweed there is no belfry to the church, so the Town Hall bells ring the people to church ! In Scandinavia it is no uncommon feature for the bells to be housed in detached " Stopuls ", many of which arc both quaint and picturesque, for the most part built of wood. In some instances there are bells in the tower of the church as well as in its adjoining " Stopul ". Of all the belfry towers in Russia that of Ivan Veliki, erected by Czar Boris about 16oo, is the finest. It is surmounted by a cross 18 feet high, standing on a crescent, as is universally the case in all ecclesiastical buildings in Russia. Its total height is 269 feet. Besides the bell tower, the walls of the Kremlin are adorned with towers not meant merely as military defences, but as architectural ornaments. These towers are not peculiar to the Kremlin in Moscow. Every city had its Kremlin in Russia, as every one in Spain had its Alcazar, and all were adorned with walls deeply machicolated, interspersed with towers. With this were enclosed five-domed churches and belfries, just as at Moscow, only of course on a scale proportional to the importance of the city. Of recent years America has taken up with great enthusiasm the art of the Carillonneur, and many fine campaniles of archi­ tectural merit have been erected, some set in ideal surroundings. The chimes and carillons they contain vary anything from 23 to over 6o bells in number, many of great size and weight, and these are hung and rung on the very latest principles. Among the best examples of these towers are the Riverside Drive Church, New York City (387 feet high, with a carillon of 72 bells) ; Chicago University (72 bells) : Norwood Memorial Tower, Mass (50 bells) : Virginia State War Memorial, Richmond (66 bells) : Marble Tower, Mountain Lake, Florida (200 feet high, 71 bells) : Indianapolis Cathedral of Ancient & Accepted Scottish Rite (63 bells) : Michigan University, Ann Arbor G BELLS OF ALL NATIONS

(53 bells) Duke University, Durham, N.C. (so bells) : North Carolina University (chime) : , Harkness Tower (chime) : and many others. A full list of carillons in America will be found on pages 175-176. Of other modern carillon towers of exceptional merit there are among others, the Ottawa Parliament Buildings-Victory Tower (280 feet high with 53 bells) : Louvain University (285 feet high with 48 bells) : Wellington War Memorial Tower, New Zealand (49 bells) : Y.M.C.A. Buildings, Jerusalem, "Jesus Tf;lwer" (35 bells) : Loughborough, England, War Memorial Tower (47 bells). Other noted campaniles in England include the Imperial Institute, South Kensington, London (heavy ring of 10 bells) : Westminster R.C. Cathedral (heavy bourdon) : Manchester Town Hall (ring of 13 bells and 10 others, making a heavy chime of 23) : and we must not omit the famous clock tower of the Houses of Parliament, Westminster, London with "Big Ben· ~ , well known the world over for its wireless broadcasts daily. "Big Ben" is England's third heaviest bell-13t tons weight­ and is accompanied by four quarter bells. In England are quite a number of detached campaniles­ bell-towers and small bell-houses-belonging to various churches. Many have for divers reasons been destroyed or demolished. In mediaeval days they were attached to sever?-! Cathedrals, as for instance Old St. Paul's, Chichester, Salisbury, Worcester and Rochester. The bells of Old St. Paul's were traditionally gambled away by King Henry VIII in 1534 : the campanile at Worcester did not survive the Reformation. That at Salisbury-a most picturesque structure with a wooden spire, survived until 1777· Westminster Abbey had its detached tower, and the remains of the " Five-bell tower " on the North side of Rochester Cathedral are still to be seen. That at Chichester still remains to this day, and is a fine perpendicular erection 120 feet high, containing a ring of 8 bells, a large bourdon, and clock with chimes. The bells of Oxford Cathedral now hang in a tower some distance away from the cathedral itself, having been removed from the tower and spire when the latter was deemed unsafe. A similar instance occurred at Holy Trinity, Coventry, where the bells CAMP A N .I L E S (BELL T 0 WE R S) 83 now hang in a wooden campanile in the churchyard. At King's College, Cambridge, there was a noble ring of five bells hung in a low wooden belfry on the north side of the chapel. This struc· ture was destroyed when the bells were sold in 1754. New College, Oxford, possesses a fine detached tower with a ring of ten bells. Some of the parish churches of England have similar detached towers, many being most curious in their quaint positions and unusual architecture. Thus at Gunwalloe, Corn· wall, the tower stands fourteen feet away from the church and contains 3 bells. On three of its sides the walls are formed of the solid rock against which it stands. Herefordshire has quite a number of examples of quaint detached towers of curious designs, viz. :-Bosbury, Pembridge, Yarpole, Richard's Castle, and others. That at Ledbury is surmounted by a fine spire, 120 feet high. Norfolk too, has a number of detached belfries, that of West Walton being one of the finest. It stands 70 feet away from the church, forming a grand entrance to the churchyard, and contains five bells. Little Snoring has a detached round tower, and a similar one is at Bramfield, Suffolk. One of the quaintest of these detached belfries is at Brookland, Kent, which has been described as " three old-fashioned candle snuffers placed one on another ! " At W armsworth, Yorkshire, the twelfth century tower stands just outside the Hall, fully half-a­ mile from the church. At Evesham, Worcester, is a beautiful detached tower with a roadway through its base, standing in two churchyards, those of All Saints and St. Lawrence. It was begun in 1207, and rebuilt in the fifteenth century as a receptacle for the clock and great bell of the Abbey. It is r ro feet high, 28 feet square, and now contains a fine ring of ro bells. East Bergholt, Suffolk, has a quaint " bell-cage" in its churchyard, in which hang five heavy bells, complete with headstocks and wheels. At Elstow, Bedfordshire, is a detached campanile with a ring of six bells. This is famous for its connection with John Bunyan, the noted author of Pilgrim's Progress and other religious works, and it was here in his younger days that Bunyan used to ring. His bell-the old 4th-still exists. Carfax tower, Oxford, is all that now remains of St. Martin's church which was de· molished in the eighteenth century. It has a ring of six bells, and these are still rung on occasions of public rejoicing or civic BELLS OF ALL NATIONS festivities. In the private grounds of Quex Park, near Birching­ ton, Kent, there is a tower called the " Waterloo Tower", which was erected by J. Powell Powell, Esqr., an enthusiastic bellringer, who placed therein a ring of 12 bells. It is very unusual in England to see churches with both tower and spire separate from each other. There are a few, however, viz. :-Ormskirk, Lanes.: Llandaff Cathedral: S. Andrew, Wanborough, and S. Mary, Purton, both in Wiltshire: the church of Our Lady and English Martyrs (R.C.), Cambridge. Perhaps the most famous, and at the same time unique, is that of Rugby parish church, where, not only is there a tower and a tower with spire quite distinct ; they each contain a ring of bells, hung for , scientific change-ringing. Thus the old tower has five bells, and the new tower and spire eight bells. This is the only example of its kind anywhere ! A number of cathedrals and churches have a ring of bells in one tower, and sundry odd and" bourdon" bells in another, as for instance St. Paul's Cathedral, London : York Minster : Lincoln Minster : Beverley and others ; but Rugby is-as stat~d-the only place with two distinct rings. CHAPTER XIII

Curious Substitutes for Bells

To THE ENGLISH, the pealing of church bells has become, through centuries of usage, a national institution. Handel is reputed to have said that the bell is the Englishman's national musical instrument, and for ages England has been called the " ringing isle". Therefore it would seem out of place to us to use any other substitute for church bells, but in other lands we find many interesting customs. Among the Jews, it will be remembered, although small bells were known, solemn assemblies were always summoned by a blast on a silver trumpet. Thus ran the Divine command :- : "Make thee two trumpets of silver, of a whole piece shalt thou make them : that thou mayest use them for the calling of the assembly, and for the journeying of the Camps ". 1 In a later verse we read :-" In the day of your gladness, and in your solemn days, and in the beginnings of your months, ye shall blow with the trumpets over your burnt offerings, and over the sacrifices of your peace offerings ". The Ark of the Lord was brought up to Jerusalem amid the sound of trumpets, and in a similar way the fall of Jericho was celebrated : so, in a word, the Jews were as familiar with the blare of the clarions, as we are of bells. Hue, the Lazarist priest who travelled Mongolia in r844, · found the same means applied for summoning the worshippers of Thibet. This is described the call of the assembly :-

1 Numbers, x. 2. 86 BELLS OF ALL NATIONS " When the hour for prayer is come, a Lama, whose office it is to summon the priests of the convent, proceeds to the great gate of the Temple, and blows as loud as he can on a sea· conch, successively towards the four cardina] points : upon hearing this powerful instrument, audible for a league around the Lamas put on the mantle and cap of ceremony and assemble in the great inner court. When the time is come, the sea conch sounds again, the great gate is opened, and the living Fo enters the Temple."

In Hawaii conch shells are blown to call people to church. At Willoughton and Thomey in England, are preserved two trumpets said to have served at one time for calling the people together. In Abyssinia instead of bells, they use a sort of stone (topstein) which gives a very sonorous sound. In some South African Mission Churches a piece of old railway line is suspended from a nearby tree, serving the purpose of a bell ; while in one small Welsh village, an outsize triangle (similar to those used in orchestral music) is beaten loudly at service times. Symandra, a long piece of wood pierced with holes and struck with a mallet while suspended by a cord, was used in olden times, and is still used in some ancient monasteries in the East. In a similar way the Hagiosideron-a piece of iron fashioned like the symandra­ was used in olden times. Prior to the year 68o, early British Christians were wont to call the faithful together by means of wooden rattles or " sacred boards ", a few are still existing, and may be found also in Spain, where they are sounded during the three days of the Passion in Holy Week, when it is not permitted to ring bells. Such an instance is described by St. Francis Xavier who, when alluding to the custom he found at Socotra says :-" They use no bells, but wooden rattles such as we use during Holy Week, to serve to call the people together." In some places, as in Mexico, the people carry wooden clacks on these holy days, which they rattle to scare away evil spirits. The Hon. Margaret Collier describes the custom she witnessed on Holy Saturday in a,n Italian village :-" The next morning early, men go about hammering bits of wood and crying, ' Come to Mass, in memory of Christ's death ', and this is called tric-a-trac " Aubrey, in the Lansdown MSS. describes a siJ;ni.lar practice C U R I 0 U S S U B S T IT U T E S F 0 R B E L L S 87 in Oxfordshire, and wooden clacks are mentioned in mediaeval Lincolnshire. A rattle of ponderous dimensions (matraca) is suspended in one of the lofty arches of the famous Giralda tower in Seville, one of the minarets left by the Moors upon the surrender of the city to the Christians in the year I 248. The rattle is composed of four elongated boxes attached equi-distant to a common axle-tree in such a way that, when the apparatus is revolvec;l, these boxes emit a rhythmical series of sounds not unlike the explosion of a bunch of crackers ! Suspended above the nine great bells of Toledo Cathedral is another massive rattle, worked by curious mechanism, which it is the custom to wund con­ tinuously for forty-eight hours before the ' Gloria in Excelsis ' of the Saturday before Easter. The Rev. Ellacombe records that in the Fiji Islands bells are made by hollowing out the trunk of certain trees and then cutting into sections three or four feet in length with bevelled ends. These are called ' Lali '. When placed upon a resonant elastic body and struck with a mallet, a roaring hum is pro­ duced. Explorers state that these wooden gongs can be heard fifty miles away. Really they are primitive radios, and the messages they send actually go by vibration, and not by sound, the lalis being attuned to each other. Similar contrivances are in use in South America and Mrica. As early as the eighth century the Greeks began to employ sonorous pieces of wood much as we do bells, 1 and these are in use even to this day. At Brunswick, in the church of St. Wallace, is preserved as a curiosity, a wooden bell, called Good Friday (Char-Freitags Glocke), which is used only during Holy Week. The word Kolokolleads us to believe that the Russians formerly, in lieu of bells, used boards, which they struck by sticks. It was stated in the Gazette of Konigsberg, that in Sweden a bell was cast in glass, seven English feet in diameter, and that its sound is pure and sonorous. 2 Porcelain bells have been used, especially for learners on the Carillon in Belgium and Germany, and at the Frauen Kirche

1 Tyack, Book about Bells. • Aug. de Montferrand, The Great Bell of Moscow, p. 8. 88 BELLS OF ALL NATIONS Meissen, there is a large carillon of 3 7 such bells, made in 1929 by the Stautliche Porzellan Manfrs. The human voice, as is well known, is used by Mohammedans and throughout Islam the Muezzin, from the summit of the minaret, summons the people to prayer by a musical chant, which, in that clear oriental air, is said to ring out a surprising distance. St. Jerome speaks of Alleluia being sung to let people know service is about to begin, something like the introductory voluntary played by our organists. In the primitive church during the times of persecution, the use of bells, or any other public announcement of divine worship was, of course, im­ possible, but in its stead, trusted messengers called 'runners', passed from house to house of the faithful, briefly stating the time and place fixed for their next meeting. Tertullian alludes to this in his De Fuga in Persecutione :- " If you cannot assemble by day, you have the night, the light of Christ luminous against its darkness ; you cannot run about among them one after another, be content with a church of threes." In several churches on the rocky coasts of Scotland there are old ships' bells doing service for the usual church bells, and these were mostly recovered from wrecks of ships stranded nearby. The famous cathedral at Iona was, until quite recently, served by a ship's bell, and in the Scilly Islands four of the five churches possess them, as do other churches at Sutton Bridge in Lincoln­ shire, and St. George's, Manchester. Some churches in England have substitutes for bells in large tubular gongs, similar to orchestral bells but larger in size. Others possess hemispherical bells-like huge saucers-struck by chime hammers. For quality of tone and carrying power, the ordinary church bell is unrivalled, but for small belfries, where space is limited, 'hemispherical bells are most suitable. They are usually fitted with chiming apparatus which enables one person to manipulate a full set. These are infinitely better than the horrid substitute some churches have recently installed (as at Weymouth, Twickenham and elsewhere) of gramophone records of bells amplified by loud speakers. As mentioned elsewhere, the insertion of such " canned bells " in a sacred edifice is an abominat_ion. Chiming at St. John-the-Divine, Leicester. (Mr Sidney Harrison) Ringing tunes on twenty (Mr C . H . Webb and sons- Mr J. Morris and son) Bow Bells, London (a) before restoration

(b) after restoration Ringers in the belfry of Holy Trinity, Hobart, Tasmania CHAPTER XIV

Ancient Bells of Celtic Saints

PRESERVED IN MANY places are portable hand-bells of ancient origin which were held in the highest veneration for many ages by the early Christians of the British, Irish and Scottish churches, but which later became disused and neglected. These small quadrangular hand-bells of iron and bronze are most interesting objects of the early Christian period, and various notices have appeared regarding them showing quite plainly that they were regarded with the utmost feeling of veneration. Staveley in his History of Churches informs us that Welsh and Irish peasantry used to think that bells could perform cures, miracles, etc., and Fosbroke 1 has collected various notices of the regard in which bells were held amongst them. In the re­ motest ages of the Celtic church, bells were even supposed to have wonderful powers of locomotion. The bells so highly reverenced by the British and Irish Christians during the Middle Ages, were relics of some or other of the early founders of Christianity in these islands, to whom they had belonged, and which had been preserved ever since the time of the saints, in monasteries or other religious houses founded by the Saints them­ selves--or elsewhere kept in the custody of an hereditary keeper. Bells appear to have been used in Ireland as early as the time of St. Patrick (died A.D. 493). They are mentioned in the lives of most of the early saints in the annals of the Four Masters, and in other ancient compositions. In the Lives of the English Saints (S. Augustine, p. 35) relating to the practices of the British church on the day of St. Germanus it states :-

1 British Monachism, 4 to 429. 8g go BELLS OF ALL NATIONS " It is important to shew the great antiquity of certain Ecclesiastic customs, the origin of which is sometimes referred to a later period. One characteristic of the British church in the Vth century was the great honour paid to the sanctuaries and offices of religion. Every person who met a priest made obeisance to him, and asked for his blessing. Similar marks of respect were also paid to churches, and the appurtenances of Divine Worship, such as bells, books and vestments."

Gildas is also said to have sent to St. Brigit as a token of his regard, a small bell cast by himself. At the time of the raising of St. Teils to the Episcopal dignity, we are told that " the people presented him with a bell that was more famous than great, more valuable in reality than appearance; because it exceeded every organ in sweetness of sound : it condemned the perjured : it healed the sick : and what appeared more wonderful, it sounded every hour without anyone moving it : until, being prevented by the sin of men, who had rashly handled it with polluted hands, it ceased from such sweet performances." Cressy, in his Church History informs us, " That in the gesta of S. Oudoceus (second Bishop of Llandaff) in the year of our grace 560, crosses and the use of bells were known in the British churches." At Llangeney (Llangenan or S. Cenan's) near Crickhowel a small bell was dug up in the year r8oo, on the site of the original chapel or oratory of St. Cenan, on a farm eastward of the present church. It is quadrangular in shape, 12! ins. high from the handle, and the mouth is considerably broader than the top, where it is r 7 ins. in circumference, whereas at the bottom it is 24 ins. It does not weigh 20 lbs. but the iron, which was formerly cased with bell metal or brass, is much corroded, and the tongue is gone. There are quite a number of other ancient Ecclesiastical bells preserved in private collections and museums in Wales and elsewhere. The late Dean of Hereford, Dr. Merewether, had an ancient bronze bell, which was found at Morden on cleaning out a pond, below the mud and rubbish which had accumulated for centuries, at a depth of r8 ft. below the level of the adjacent ground. The pond is only a few yards from the church built on the spot where the body of St. Ethelbert, murdered by Offa, ANCIENT BELLS 0 F CELTIC SAINTS gr was said to have been deposited, and in which there is still a hole in the floor where (tradition says) the body rested, and a miraculous spring arose. The bell is of a sheet of bell-metal, hammered into shape and rivetted on each side, the handle at the top being rounded for the hand. The clapper is gone, but there is a loop inside from which it was suspended. As before mentioned, many of these bells were used by early missionaries of the church, and were held in high esteem and veneration, so much so that they were sometimes encased with costly coverings, or elaborately decorated shrines, by the piety and superstitioR of later ages. One of the most interesting and beautiful was discovered in 1814 on the demolition of an old wall of Torrebhlaum Farm, Kilmichael-Glassary, Argyllshire, and now in the museum of Scottish Antiquities. It is not difficult to show that such bells were in use in Scotland four centuries before the conversion of St. Olaf and his Norwegian Earls. They were introduced by the first Christian missionaries, and summoned the brethren at Iona to prayers, while the habitation of the sacred isle was but a few wattled huts. The bell of St. Columba conse­ crated by him, called the family of Iona to their orisons beneath the osier groins of their first cathedral. The bell was held by the natives in particular veneration, and called the Clogna Cholumchille, or bell of St. Columbkill, and also named " God's Yengeance ", alluding to the curse implicitly believed to fall on all persons swearing falsely by it. The Kilmichael-Glassary bell, within a beautiful brass shrine, is so greatly corroded that its original shape cannot be perfectly traced, yet this, and not the shrine, is the chief object of veneration. The name of Dia Dioghaltus-God's Vengeance-is also applicable to all relics of this class.· This particular shrine is of the tenth century, and attached to the bottom is a thin plate of brass pierced with a circular hole in the centre. Inside the case, but detached from it, is the rude iron bell, which is of earlier date. When first dis­ covered it was carefully wrapped up in woollen cloth, then almost entirely decayed. The hole in the lower plate is large enough to admit the insertion of a finger, designed to allow of the bell being touched as a consecrated and miraculously gifted relic, without removing it from its case. At a very recent date, ancient consecrated bells appear to 92 BELLS OF ALL NATIONS have been preserved in Scotland with superstitious reverence, and evidence is also shown of the existence of others dedicated to primitive Scottish Saints, some of which are still in the keeping of hereditary custodians. The Clogan, or little bell of St. Barry, a favourite old Celtic Saint, who gives the name to the district of Argyllshire where he ministered, remained till the close of the last century in the possession of the principal heritory of the parish of Kilberry. The holy bell of S. Rowan, remained in the keeping of the family of the Dewars of Monivaird as evidence and guarantee of certain hereditary chartered rights ; and though no such substantial benefits pertained to the Guthrie bell, it was preserved by the Guthries among their most valued heirlooms. This bell is 8! ins. high, and consists of a mere iron clogan of the rudest simplicity. But after suffering delapidations at subsequent periods, it has been richly decorated with bronze, silver, niells, and gilding. The inscription in fourteenth century characters is inlaid in niells on a broad silver plate attached to the lower edge of the bell :- ·

"johannes alexandri me fieri fecit ".

The figure of the Saviour on the Cross wears a cap closely resembling a Scottish bonnet in place of the crown of thorns, is of bronze gilt, and is the work of an earlier period than the surrounding figures. The " Aberdeen Breviary " commemorates a Scottish bell presented to St. Ternan, the Apostle of the Picts, by Pope Gregory the Great, which is preserved with other relics at Banchory, Aberdeenshire. From Killin, in Perthshire, comes another sacred bell, that of St. Fillan, to which much superstition attached, dating from the seventh century. Another bell of this class called the bell of St. Godeberte is preserved at Noyan in France. Representations of these venerated relics have been introduced on various Scottish seals, and the bell of St. Kentigern, the Apostle of Strathclyde, after forming for centuries a prominent feature in the armorial bear­ ings of the Archiepiscopal See, still figures in the modern city's arms. A N C I E N T B E L L S 0 F C E L T I C S A I N T S 93

The most famous of the Irish bells is that called " clog-an­ Eadhacta-Phatraic " or " Bell of St. Patrick's Will ". This bell is formed of two plates of sheet iron fastened together by iron rivets and bronzed. It has a handle at the top, and is 6 ins. high and 5 ins. broad at the base. It is believed to be the identical bell mentioned in the Annals of Ulster, under the date 552, as having been removed from St. Patrick's tomb by St. Colomoille. As is usual with these sacred handbells, it is kept in a shrine which bears an inscription in Irish to the effect that it (the shrine) was made between 1091 and 1105. The framework is of bronze plates, to which the decorated portions are attached, the handle being of silver with enamel settings and scroll work. The compartments of the frame retain decorations of gold filigree and interlaced work, and round the front are settings of red stones, some now missing. The crystal in the centre, and one below are later work. The back is overlaid with a silver plate of cruciform pattern. The Killua Shrine is from County Westmeath, and now belongs to the Royal Irish Academy. It consists of the semi-circular top of an eighth century bell-shrine, formed of cast bronze and partially gilt. It is 5.2 ins. long and 2.3 ins. high, and on the front is a human figure between two elongated reptile-like animals, below which are circular plaques containing amber beads and four inter-laced patterns in relief. The back has a border of four-strand plait, and a cross with amber stud in the centre : the extremities of this cross are shaped as hands, and the spaces between the arms are filled with diver­ gent spirals. The shrine of S. Senan or Clog-an-Oir, is from County Clare (Inis Cathaigh), and is a bronze bell-shaped frame with a cap of semi-circular outline. Each face shows an inlaid silver cross with enlarged centre and ends, the surrounding panels as well as those on the cap being filled with interlaced work of the early twelfth century. The bell which the shrine originally enclosed is lost. In the fourteenth century the sides and cap were covered with silver plates, which for the most part still exist. The plate covering one face shows an engraving of two wyverns with tails ftoreated. The end plates exhibit respectively a leopard rampant and siren crowned, and over each of these, a mitred head. 94 BELLS OF ALL NATIONS The bell of , better known as the Clog bean-nuighte, was preserved in a family named Henning, whose residence is on the low road between Lurgan and Portadown, in the county of Armagh. Paul Henning was the last keeper of the Clog bean­ nuighte, and when any of his connection died it was rung by him in front of the mna gul, the old women, who, according to the Irish custom, keen and bewail the dead. There are about forty examples of similar bells in the National Museum of Ireland at Dublin. A bell of great antiquity, preserved at Inishkeen, was found at Gartan, St. Columba's birthplace in Co. Donegal, and was used as an adjuration bell as well as for medicinal purposes. It is called the bell of St. Columba and in size and shape is very similar to other bells of the period, which bear the names of saints with whom they .were connected. Thus we . have the bell of St. Molua in the Queen's County: St. Cummin of Kil­ ·Common in the King's County: St. Gamin of Kilcamin: St. Cuana of Kill-chuana, or Killshanny, Clare : and many others. This document is provided for you by The Whiting Society of Ringers visit www.whitingsociety.org.uk for the full range of publications and articles about bells and change ringing