Forty two feet above the crossing of the church, seen by very few but heard by many, hang one of the real treasures of the parish -- the Bells of St. Mary's. We have a ring of eight bells, cast at the Whitechapel Foundry in London in 1865, and first rung for Easter 1866. The bells in the key of D, range in weight from the treble at 703 pounds, to the tenor at 2,468 pounds and have a combined weight of about 10,000 pounds. The bells cost $10,000 and would now have a replacement value of $325.000.
The bells may be rung in either of two ways. The bells can hang stationary, mouth down, and be struck by side chiming hammers. This arrangement allows one person to play hymn tunes. The other way of ringing them is to make them swing full 360 degree circle so that their central clapper strikes the bell once on each side of the swing. This type of ringing is called change ringing and comes from a long tradition in England. Change ringing requires one person per bell. Hymn tunes are not played. The bells sound in a "changing cascade of sound" as the bells weave their sound in and out -- much like line or square dancing -- by changing the order in which they are rung. Change ringing is heard from thousands of towers in England. St. Mary's is one of only 38 towers in all of North America where this ancient art is practiced.
Anyone interested in more information on the bells should contact Ned Taggart (Master of the Chimes) for chiming or hymn playing. Ned is assisted in this work by assistants Bill Baird and David Gilbert.
Our change ringing group is currently inactive, but if you have questions please contact Robert Mead or the Parish Office. For more general information on change ringing click here.
