*Location:

   Plainfield United Methodist Church
   Chicago & (North) Illinois Streets
   Plainfield, Illinois, USA
   (Illinois Street has been renumbered,
   changing "North" to "South".)
   LL: N 41.60767, W 88.20383

Site locator map

*Carillonist:

   Church members and youth

   2014-20 Kelly L. Markwell

*Contact:

   Plainfield Methodist Church
   15114 South Illinois Street
     (renumbered from 600 N. Illinois St.)
   Plainfield, IL  60544-2804
   T: 815-436-9651   F: 815-436-9764
   E: pumc@plainfieldumc.com

*Schedule:

   Original dedication Dec.1907;
   rededication Sun. 9 Dec. 2007,
   by Tim Sleep.

*Remarks:

   Original added semitone was flat 7th.
   Independent electric action added in
   1971 did not last long.  New bells have
   special profiles to match existing
   bells; installation, by ChimeMaster,
   included conversion of chimestand to
   batons, rearrangement of some bells
   on existing frame and new extension,
   new clappers & suspension on all old
   bells.  Old chime handles & other
   artifacts in historical display.
   Electro-pneumatic auto-play thru console
   added with final expansion.

*Technical data:

   Traditional carillon of 23 bells
   Pitch of heaviest bell is F# in the middle octave
   Keyboard range:     C C   /    NONE  
   Transposition is up  6 semitone(s), i.e., from C to F#
   There are two missing bass semitones
   There is no practice console
   The instrument was enlarged in 2014
     with bells made by Eijsbouts    
   Prior history:
     In 2007, the instrument was enlarged to 18 bells
       by Eijsbouts   
       Keyboard range was:     C G   /    NONE  
     In 1906, the instrument was begun with 10 bells
       by Meneely/Wvlt
       Keyboard range was:     F G   /    NONE  
       Transposition was up  1 semitone(s), i.e., from C to C#
       There was one added semitone
   Auxiliary mechanisms: nInW1 
   Tower details: 
     Height of console:                  8 meters above ground
     Height of lowest level of bells:   14 meters above ground
     Height of highest level of bells:  (unknown)
     Belfry openness:    %
   Year of latest technical information source is 2014

The church Website has a photo of the building.  The previous version of the Website had a History page with more photos, and a long section about the chime; but these seem to have been abandoned.

Where the initial phase of this work lies in the sequence of output of the Meneely (Watervliet) bellfoundry.
Where the second phase of this work lies in the sequence of output of the Eijsbouts bellfoundry, in this region and in the world.
Where the final phase of this work lies in the sequence of output of the Eijsbouts bellfoundry, in this region and in the world.

Ranking among all North American traditional carillons by size (number of bells).
Ranking among all North American traditional carillons by weight (pitch).
Ranking among all North American traditional carillons by year of completion.

Other small carillons with similar keyboard ranges.

Index to all tower bell instruments in IL.

   This page was built from the database on 14-Oct-24
   based on textual data last updated on 2023/04/27
   and on technical data last updated on 2014/04/24