The Bells of St.James

*Location:

   St.James' Anglican Church
   Hamilton & Mornington Streets
   Stratford, Ontario, Canada
   LL: N 43.37397, W 80.98443

Site locator map

*Player:

   Peter C. Ryde,   (A)
     Master of the Bells
   171 McCarty Street / PO Box 459
   Thamesford, ON  N0M 2M0
   H: 519-285-3443
   E: p_ryde@hotmail.com
   - or -
   T: 519-271-3572x216  [bell tower]
   - and -
   Michel Allard

   1940-51 E.Horace Gladding  (1895-1985)
   1920-60 Ernest C. House

*Contact:

   St.James' Church
   6 Hamilton Street
   Stratford, ON  N5A 4Y9
   T: 519-271-3572   F: 519-271-6044
   E: officestjames@cyg.net

*Schedule:

   Sunday 0945-1030, Sept.-June;
   summer Wednesdays at 1900;
   Tuesdays & Thursdays at 1200 (visitors
   welcome); many special occasions.
   Cambridge (Westminster) quarters from
   E.Howard tower clock, 12 hours daily.

*Remarks:

   Added semitones sharp 4th, flat 7th &
   sharp octave.  Chimestand music rack
   bears the old name of West Troy.  Added
   bells (& retuning of old bells) by
   Meeks, Watson & Co.; all rehung on new
   frame; chimestand re-spaced and
   pedals added; rededication 13 Feb 2011.

*Technical data:

   Traditional chime (chimestand) of 15 bells
   Pitch of heaviest bell is E  in the middle octave
   Keyboard range:     C G   /    C C 10
   Transposition is up  4 semitone(s), i.e., from C to E 
   There are three added semitones
   There is no practice console
   The instrument was enlarged in 2010
     with  4 bells made by the maker cited in Remarks above
   Prior history:
     In 1909, the instrument was begun with 11 bells
       by Meneely/Wvlt    
       Keyboard range was:     E F#  /    NONE  
       Transposition was nil (concert pitch)
       There were two added semitones
   Auxiliary mechanisms: Q4H   
   Tower details: 
     Height of console:                  4 meters above ground
     Height of lowest level of bells:   18 meters above ground
     Height of highest level of bells:  20 meters above ground
     Belfry openness:    %
   Year of latest technical information source is 2010

On the church Website, there is a tower photo on the Directions page (in the About Us section).  The History page (in the same section) mentions the construction of the tower and describes the chime.

Where this work lies in the sequence of output of the Meneely (Watervliet) 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 ON.

   This page was built from the database on 25-Aug-25
   based on textual data last updated on 2025/08/21
   and on technical data last updated on 2011/01/22