The Bells of the City of London
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Love's
Guide to The Bells of the City of London |
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St Paul's Cathedral, Ludgate Hill
 Photo: Wikipedia
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Details of the Bells |
| Bell | Weight (most recent)* | Weight (Measured 1878) | Weight (Measured 2000) | Diameter | Note | Date | Founder | Retuned | ||
| ® | Treble | 7-3-9 | 8-1-16 | 8-1-4 | 30⅞" | F | 1878 | John Taylor & Co., Loughborough | Never | |
| ® | 2 | 8-2-20 | 9-1-15 | 9-0-20 | 32½" | E♭ | 1878 | John Taylor & Co., Loughborough | Never | |
| ® | 3 | 9-1-6 | 10-0-3 | 9-3-12 | 34" | D | 1878 | John Taylor & Co., Loughborough | Never | |
| ® | 4 | 11-0-9 | 11-3-21 | 11-2-22 | 36 5/16" | C | 1878 | John Taylor & Co., Loughborough | Never | |
| ® | 5 | 12-2-9 | 13-2-14 | 13-1-0 | 38 9/16" | B♭ | 1878 | John Taylor & Co., Loughborough | Never | |
| ® | 6 | 12-2-24 | 14-0-4 | 13-2-14 | 39 9/16" | A | 1878 | John Taylor & Co., Loughborough | Never | |
| ® | 7 | 15-3-8 | 16-2-21 | 16-1-18 | 43⅛" | G | 1878 | John Taylor & Co., Loughborough | Never | |
| ® | 8 | 21-1-12 | 22-1-18 | 21-3-18 | 47 11/16" | F | 1878 | John Taylor & Co., Loughborough | Never | |
| ® | 9 | 27-0-16 | 28-0-7 | 27-1-22 | 53⅜" | E♭ | 1878 | John Taylor & Co., Loughborough | Never | |
| ® | 10 | 29-2-3 | 30-2-22 | 29-3-21 | 55" | D | 1878 | John Taylor & Co., Loughborough | Never | |
| ® | 11 | 42-3-7 | 44½ cwt approx. | 43-2-0 | 61½" | C | 1878 | John Taylor & Co., Loughborough | Never | |
| ® | Tenor | 61-2-2 | 62 cwt approx. | 61-2-12 | 68⅞" | B♭ | 1878 | John Taylor & Co., Loughborough | Never | |
| ® | The Banger | 18-2-26 | 49⅝" | C | 1700 | Philip Wightman, Clerkenwell | Never | |||
| ꓕ | Quarter 1 | 12-2-9 | 40" | A♭ | 1707 | Richard Phelps, Whitechapel | Never | |||
| ꓕ | Quarter 2 | 24-2-26 | 51" | E♭ | 1707 | Richard Phelps, Whitechapel | Never | |||
| ꓕ | Great Tom | 102-1-22 | 81¼" | A♭ | 1716 | Richard Phelps, Whitechapel | Never | |||
| ҂ | Great Paul | 334-2-19 | 116¾" | E♭ | 1881 | John Taylor & Co., Loughborough | Never |
How the bells are tuned |
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History |
| 1087 | The building of St Paul's Cathedral began. | ||
| 1222 | A central tower and spire was built rising to a height of 520 feet. 5 bells were placed in the tower. | ||
| 1240 | The building was largely completed. | ||
| c | 1350 | In the 14th century, a separate bell tower was built on the north-east side of the cathedral and was equipped with 4 bells. | |
| c | 1450 | In the 15th century the bell tower was pulled down and the bells were scrapped. | |
| 1552 | Record of 5 bells in the tower. [1] | ||
| 1561 | On 4 June, the spire was struck by lightning, destroying the bells. The spire was never rebuilt nor the bells replaced, the Dean and Chapter rather relying on a single bell. | ||
| 1666 | The Great Fire of London damaged St Paul's so much, it could not be restored. The fire also probably destroyed any bells that were there. | ||
| 1675 | The foundation stone of the new St Paul's Cathedral was laid on 21 June. | ||
| 1698 | William III gave the tower and bells from St Stephen's Chapel in the Palace of Westminster to St Paul's. The largest, originally called "Edward of Westminster" later became known as "Great Tom" or "Westminster Tom". It weighed 82-2-21. | ||
| 1699 | Great Tom cracked after it fell off its carriage en route to St Paul's. | ||
| 1700 | A bell was cast by Philip Wightman and hung in the North West tower. | ||
| 1707 | Two quarter bells were cast by Richard Phelps. A contract (dated 15th Nov. 1706) was made with Phelps and the clockmaker Langley Bradley. | ||
| 1708 | Great Tom was recast by Philip Wightman and hung as the hour bell in the South West Tower. It weighed 73 cwt approx. | ||
| 1709 | The casting of Great Tom was a failure, and it was recast by Richard Phelps. The old bell was 82-2-11. The new bell was 96cwt approx. | ||
| 1716 | This casting of Great Tom had also failed, so it was recast again by Richard Phelps. | ||
| 1717 | Walters states that the quarter jacks were recast by Richard Phelps, however this seems unlikely given that they bear the date "1707" (info to be confirmed by a site visit). Walters estimated the bells to be 13cwt and 35cwt approx. | ||
| 1878 | A ring of 12 bells was cast and hung in the North West tower by John Taylor & Co. The new ring of 12 was opened by the Ancient Society of College Youths on 1 November. | ||
| 1881 | Great Paul was cast by John Taylor & Co. and was at the time (and until 2012) the largest bell in the country. It was originally hung with a wooden headstock. There were four ropes on the, two each side, falling behind each other in each case. Two were fitted at the top of the wheel and two at the usual place; the former were drawn out to clear the others. | ||
| 1882 | Great Paul was rung for the first time (in Loughborough) on 18 March, and dedicated on 3 June. | ||
| 1891 | Great Paul was rehung on a new headstock. A wooden wheel was supplied to replace the levers in use previously, and the bell and frame were moved higher in the tower to make room for the new clock. John Taylor supplied the headstock and the wheel. | ||
| 1971 | Great Paul was fitted with the present two iron wheels. They and the motors were supplied by Breviet-Mamias of Gagny, France (subcontraced by John Taylor). | ||
| 2000 | Restoration work took place on the frame and fittings by Whites of Appleton. In the course of this work, the bells were weighed in the belfry. | ||
| 2018 | A major restoration of the bells took place by John Taylor & Co, who transported them to Loughborough for cleaning and refitting, but not tuning. The frame was strengthened as part of this work. |
| [1] | Item in the Steeple of belles in number five. (Edwardian Inventory, 1552) |
Articles
Engravings of the old cathedral |
The spired campanile on the north east side of the old cathedral. Photo: ASCY archive |
The spire was destroyed by lightning in 1561 leaving the stub illustrated here. Photo: ASCY archive |
Photo: ASCY archive |
Photo: ASCY archive |
1916 engraving representing Old St Paul's as it appeared prior to 1561, with intact spire. Photo: ASCY archive |
An illustration of the cathedral with its 150m spire. Photo: ASCY archive |
The whole cathedral was destroyed in 1666. Photo: ASCY archive |
Old drawings and photographs of the bells |
The tenor bell about to be hoisted into the tower. Photo: ASCY archive |
1.- Entrance to the Belfry. 2.- Back View of the Apostles. 3.-Daylight at Last. 4.- A Side Peep going up. 5.- The Bells. Montage entitled: INAUGURATION OF THE NEW PEAL OF BELLS AT ST. PAUL'S CATHEDRAL Photo: The Pictorial World 9 Nov 1878 (ASCY archive) |
Great Paul. Photo: Hulton archive |
Great Paul on its way to the Cathedral, carried on a steam trailer. Photo: ASCY archive. |
An engraving of the original "Great Tom of Westminster". This was given to St Paul's Cathedral in 1698 by William III. It used to be known as "Edward of Westminster" and weighed 82-2-21. Great Tom itself is virtually inaccessible and impossible to photogr Photo: ASCY archive |
Great Paul on its headstock. Photo: Jim Hedgcock Collection |
Tolling the Great Bell of St Paul's for the death of the Duke of Albany Photo: The Illustrated London News, 5 Apr 1884 |
Boring for the Clapper-bolt in Great Paul from the inside and outside. Photo: "The Graphic", 20 May 1882: "GREAT PAUL:" THE NEW BELL FOR ST. PAUL'S CATHEDRAL |
The Removal of Great Paul: Leaving Loughborough for London. Photo: "The Graphic", 20 May 1882: "GREAT PAUL:" THE NEW BELL FOR ST. PAUL'S CATHEDRAL |
Great Paul. Photo: "The Graphic", 27May, 1882 |
Testing the Great Bell for St. Paul's Cathedral, at Messrs. Taylor and Sons' Factory, Loughborough Photo: "The Illustrated London News" - front cover14 Jan 1882. |
Photographs of the NE belfry in 2006 |
The "Banger" in a frame above the ring of 12. This was the original bell at St Paul's. Photo: Dickon R Love, 7 May 2006 |
The 9th, donated by the Fishmongers' Company. Photo: Dickon R Love, 7 May 2006 |
The 8th, donated by the Merchant Taylors' Company Photo: Dickon R Love, 7 May 2006 |
The name of the Prime Warden of the Fishmongers' Company appears on the bell. Photo: Dickon R Love, 7 May 2006 |
A view across the belfry. The 9th is in the foreground Photo: Dickon R Love, 7 May 2006 |
The 11th, donated by the Grocers' Company. Photo: Dickon R Love, 7 May 2006 |
The treble and 2nd, donated by the Drapers' Company. Photo: Dickon R Love, 7 May 2006 |
The name of the Master of the Merchant Taylors' Company appears on the bell. Photo: Dickon R Love, 7 May 2006 |
The 3rd, donated by the Turners' Company. Photo: Dickon R Love, 7 May 2006 |
The 7th, donated by the Salters' Company. Photo: Dickon R Love, 7 May 2006 |
A view across the belfry with the tenor at the back Photo: Dickon R Love, 7 May 2006 |
Photo: Dickon R Love, 7 May 2006 |
Photographs of the SE belfry |
Notoriously difficult to photograph, Great Paul swings in its massive wooden frame, barely contained by the tower. Photo: Dickon R Love, Mar 2000 |
Photo: Dickon R Love, Mar 2000 |
The bulky headstock that attaches the bell to the wheel and bearings. Photo: Dickon R Love, Mar 2000 |
Inside Great Paul. Photo: Dickon R Love, Mar 2000 |
Great Paul used to be swung by two ringers, one in a pit under each side of the bell. Jim Phillips, then Secretary of the St Paul's Guild, demonstrates how this was done. Photo: Dickon R Love, Mar 2000 |
This is about the best I could do to photograph the quarter jacks in 2000. One is clearly visible from the ceiling. The other is hidden behind the grating, which at the time was inaccessible. Hopefully some better photographs will be obtained in the futur Photo: |
The Dean of St Paul's, Dr John Moses, demonstrates how huge this bell really is. It swings at 1pm every day. While it is the largest bell in the country, it is by no means the loudest, and from outside the cathedral it rumbles quietly inside. Photo: ASCY archive |
Photograph of the quarter jacks taken c.1960 with the lip of Great Tom seen above them. Photo: |
| Love's Guide to the Church Bells of the City of London | Page updated: 13 October 2019 |