The Eldredge Chime

*Location:

   Grace Episcopal Church
   Church and Eldredge Streets
   Newton Corner,
     Newton, Massachusetts, USA
   LL: N 42.35314, W 71.18378

Site locator map

*Player:

   Christopher Hossfeld, Music Director
   E: music@gracenewton.org

*Contact:

   Grace Church
   76 Eldredge Street
   Newton, MA  02158-2098
   T: 617-244-3221   F: 617-969-9036
   E: office@gracenewton.org

*Schedule:

   (unknown)

*Remarks:

   Made by Wm.Blake & Co., Boston, MA.
   Added semitone is flat 7th.
   Named for Elizabeth Eldredge, an
   important benefactress of the church.
   Restored by Verdin in 2023, with bells
   rehung on original frame (except new
   new supports for swinging bass),
   console rebuilt.

*Technical data:

   Traditional chime (chimestand) of  9 bells
   Pitch of heaviest bell is E  in the middle octave
   Transposition is nil (concert pitch)
   Keyboard range:     E E   /    ----  
   There is one added semitone
   There is no practice console
   The whole instrument was installed in 1873
     with bells made by Hooper/Blake
   Auxiliary mechanisms: S1    
   Tower details not available
   Year of latest technical information source is 2023

The church Website has a photo of the building in all page headers; it's evident that the chime was original to the building.  The Parish Life page is actually a photo gallery; some pictures include the bell tower, and one reports that the tower was reconstructed in 2003; another shows the chimestand in use.  The church history is unfortunately provided only in a set of 33 separately downloadable documents, not identified as to timespan or event.  As of Aug.2020, there are photos of the building on the History page, but the chime is not mentioned.

News article (7 Oct '20) about how the church is seeking funds to restore its stone-spired bell tower.  With photo of the building and tower.  Most of the article is behind a paywall.

Video (2:23) of the chime

Where this work lies in the sequence of output of the Hooper/Blake bellfoundry.

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

Index to all tower bell instruments in MA.

   This page was built from the database on  9-Aug-23
   based on textual data last updated on 2023/08/04
   and on technical data last updated on 2023/06/11