*Location:

   The Evangelical Lutheran Church of
     The Holy Trinity (ELCA)
   East Mifflin & South Duke Streets
   Lancaster, Pennsylvania, USA
   LL: N 40.03751, W 76.30303

Site locator map

*Player:

   (unknown)

*Contact:

   Trinity Lutheran Church
   31 South Duke Street
   Lancaster, PA  17602-3593
   T: 717-397-2734   F: 717-397-2159
   E: church@trinitylancaster.org

*Schedule:

   (unknown)

*Remarks:

   Original octave removed after one bell
   cracked.  Present octave cast by
   Naylor, Vickers & Co., Sheffield,
   England, in 1860 and installed in 1861;
   they are made of E. Riepe's patent cast
   steel, and bear conventional bead
   lines and inscriptions
   (including serial numbers).
   The flat 7th, added to the chime some
   years later, was cast for this church
   by Lester & Pack in 1768.  Chimestand
   keys are shaped like flat paddles,
   and all are identical, so it probably
   was made locally when flat 7th was
   added; original action may have been a
   taut-rope rack.
   Tenor formerly swung.

*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   /    NONE  
   There is one added semitone
   The presence or absence of a practice console is unknown
   The instrument was enlarged in 18**
     with  1 bell made by Whitechapel in 1768
   Prior history:
     In 1860, the instrument was begun with  8 bells
       by the maker cited in Remarks above
       (8 bells remain from that work.)
       There were no added semitones
     In 1853, a complete instrument of  8 bells was installed
       by Jones       
       (0 bells remain from that work.)
       Pitch of heaviest bell was unknown
   Auxiliary mechanisms: nW1   
   Tower details not available
   Year of latest technical information source is 2002

The church Website has a photo of the tower on the home page.  The chime belfry is the topmost brick stage, and the chimestand is located on the next floor below (at the level of the attic).  The Website says nothing about the bells, but does have a history of the building, which was constructed in 1764.  The steeple was added in 1794.

Where this initial phase of this work lies in the sequence of output of the Jones bellfoundry.
Where the final phase of this work lies in the sequence of output of miscellaneous bellfoundries, in this region and in the world.
This being the only known chime by Naylor, Vickers & Co., there is no foundry index page.
Since the Whitechapel bell was not made for (or after) this chime, it does not appear in that foundry index.

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 (1860).

Index to all tower bell instruments in PA.

   This page was built from the database on  4-Nov-23
   based on textual data last updated on 2010/09/24
   and on technical data last updated on 2002/07/18