Catherine Colt Dickey Memorial Carillon

*Location:

   St.Thomas' Episcopal Church
   610 Bethlehem Pike, at Camp Hill Road
   Whitemarsh,
     Fort Washington, Pennsylvania, USA
   LL: N 40.12093, W 75.21519

Site locator map

*Carillonist:

   Lisa J. Lonie   (C)
   1391 Walton Road
   Blue Bell, PA  19422-2138
   H: 215-283-3223   W: 215-780-1280
   F: 215-780-1289
   E: LLonie@hotmail.com

   1974-99 Janet Dundore (1920-2005)(C)

*Contact:

   St.Thomas' Church, Whitemarsh
   *parcel:
     610 Bethlehem Pike
     Fort Washington, PA  19034
   *postal:
     P.O. Box 247
     Fort Washington, PA  19034-0247
   T: 215-233-3970

*Schedule:

   Before and after worship services;
   summer series (guests) 7pm Tuesdays
   in July and August.

*Remarks:

   Original bells donated by Mrs. Sarah K.
    Hill; added semitone was flat 7th;
   all scrapped.
   First carillon from P&F to have all
   equipment (including frame) made by
   Verdin; also the first complete design
   by R.M.Watson.

*Technical data:

   Traditional carillon of 48 bells
   Pitch of heaviest bell is D  in the middle octave
   Keyboard range:     C C   /    C C 24
   Transposition is up  2 semitone(s), i.e., from C to D 
   There is one missing bass semitone
   There is an identical practice console
   The whole instrument was installed in 1974
     with bells made by Petit & Fritsen
   Prior history:
     In 1913, a complete instrument of 10 bells was installed
       by McShane     
       (0 bells remain from that work.)
       Pitch of heaviest bell was C  in the middle octave
       Keyboard range was:     C D   /    ----  
       Transposition was nil (concert pitch)
       There was one added semitone
   No auxiliary mechanisms known
   Tower details not available
   Year of latest technical information source is 2022

The church Website offers a virtual tour with several photos of the building and tower.  The carillon is described on the Music page.

Video tour (4:54) of the carillon, by Lisa Lonie

A long news article (25 Sep 2024) with 4 photos reports that the carillon will be re-dedicated for its 50-year anniversary.

Where the initial phase of this work lies in the sequence of output of the McShane bellfoundry.
Where the final phase of this work lies in the sequence of output of the Petit & Fritsen 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 PA.

Index to all tower bell instruments in PA.

   This page was built from the database on 14-Oct-24
   based on textual data last updated on 2021/08/15
   and on technical data last updated on 2022/06/23