The Meredith Memorial Bells

*Location:

   St.Paul's Cathedral (Anglican)
   Richmond Street at Queens Avenue
   London, Ontario, Canada
   LL: N 42.98574, W 81.24994

Site locator map

*Player:

   Jean Willadsen
   - and -
   Stephanie Allen
   - and -
   Murray Hunter

   John H. Allen

*Contact:

   St.Paul's Cathedral
   472 Richmond Street
   London, ON  N6A 3E6
   T: 519-434-3225   F: 519-434-8621
   E: st.pauls@stpaulscathedral.on.ca
   - or -
   Andrew Keegan Mackriell,
      Director of Music
   E: dom@stpaulscathedral.on.ca

*Schedule:

   Sunday 0930-0950

*Remarks:

   A ring of 6, cast in 1851 by C.&G.
   Mears (Whitechapel), was converted to a
   chime in 1883.  It was replaced by the
   chime of 1901, which had added semi-
   tone of flat 7th, & was the gift of
   Mr.Justice R.M.Meredith, along with G&J
   tower clock (still in use for Cambridge
   quarters, 9am to 9pm) and chiming
   machine (now disused).  The recast
   chime has added semitones of sharp 4th &
   flat 7th, and heavier profiles than
   the original.  Keyboard (replacing a
   chiming rack) now one floor lower.

*Technical data:

   Traditional chime (baton keyboard) of 11 bells
   Pitch of heaviest bell is E  in the middle octave
   Keyboard range:     C D   /    NONE  
   Transposition is up  4 semitone(s), i.e., from C to E 
   There are two added semitones
   The presence or absence of a practice console is unknown
   All bells were recast or replaced in 1935
     by Gillett & Johnston
   Prior history:
     In 1901, the instrument was begun with 10 bells
       by Gillett & Johnston
       (0 bells remain from that work.)
       Pitch of heaviest bell was D# in the middle octave
       Keyboard range was:     E F#  /    NONE  
       Transposition was down 1 semitone(s), i.e., from C to B 
       There was one added semitone
   Auxiliary mechanisms: Q4nLnM
   Tower details not available
   Year of latest technical information source is 2000

The cathedral Website includes a photograph of the building.  Formerly there was also a page about the history of the bells.

A 1901 newspaper article records the gift and describes the bells, clock-chime and carillon machine.

From the city E-services & Maps page, call up an interactive city map to find this or any other address.

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

Index to North American baton-keyboard chimes.

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.

Why this chime was a milestone in North American chime history (1901).

Index to all tower bell instruments in ON.

   This page was built from the database on 14-Oct-24
   based on textual data last updated on 2022/04/22
   and on technical data last updated on 2022/03/09