Walter F. Tilton Memorial Carillon

*Location:

   Norwood Memorial Municipal Building
     (Soldiers Memorial, WW I)
   Washington Street (U.S. Hwy. 1A)
     at Nahatan Street
   (on the Town Common)
   Norwood, Massachusetts, USA
   LL: N 42.19489, W 71.20001

Site locator map

*Carillonist:

   Lee B. Leach, Town Carillonneur   (A)
   64 Hoyle Street
   Norwood, MA  02062-3244
   H: 781-255-1859
   E: LeeLeach@yahoo.com
   - and -
   guests

   11No1928 inaug. Kamiel Lefévere
   19xx-54-xx Roger T. Walker

*Contact:

   Town of Norwood
   *parcel:
     566 Washington Street
     Norwood, MA  02062
   *postal:
     PO Box 40
     Norwood, MA  02062-0040
   T: 781-762-1240x102   F: 781-762-9180

*Schedule:

   Monday 1830 July-August (guests)

*Remarks:

   Tower formerly held the city's old fire
   bell, by Holbrook, 1847.
   Practice keyboard, range -Y51:CD#/CG,
   built by Taylor for Cohasset c.1928,
   acquired by Sally Slade Warner in 1991,
   moved here in 2012.
   Jan.2021: trebles and transmission
   removed for renovation by Sunderlin;
   Feb.2022: trebles reinstalled with new
   transmission, adjusters & clappers;
   the 10th smallest (and most visible to
   tower visitors) is now engraved with
   the name of Bernard S. Cooper, former
   assistant general manager of Norwood.

*Technical data:

   Traditional carillon of 50 bells
   Pitch of heaviest bell is A# in the bass octave
   Keyboard range:     C D   /    C C 24
   Transposition is down 2 semitone(s), i.e., from C to A#
   There is one missing bass semitone
   There is a non-identical practice console
   2 bells were recast or replaced in 1983
     by Taylor           
   Prior history:
     In 1935,  1 bells were recast or replaced
       with bells made by Gillett & Johnston
       (1 bells were added in and/or remain from that work.)
     In 1928, the complete instrument of 50 bells was installed
       with bells made by Gillett & Johnston
       (47 bells remain from that work.)
   No auxiliary mechanisms known
   Tower details not available
   Year of latest technical information source is 2015

On the city Website, the opening photo collage includes a small photo of the tower.  Another is on the page about the Summer Concerts, which can be found through the Information tab.

Waymarking page

A peace carillon page has photos and additional information.

Historical article on Norwood's Blind Carillonneur

Where the initial phase of this work lies in the sequence of output of the Gillett & Johnston bellfoundry, in this region and in the world.
Where the second phase of this work lies in the sequence of output of the Gillett & Johnston bellfoundry, in this region and in the world.
Where the final phase of this work lies in the sequence of output of the Taylor bellfoundry, in this region and in the world.

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

Other concert carillons with similar keyboard ranges.

Index to all traditional carillons in MA.

Index to all peace carillons worldwide.

Index to all tower bell instruments in MA.

   This page was built from the database on  1-Aug-25
   based on textual data last updated on 2025/07/31
   and on technical data last updated on 2015/09/09