*Location:

   Southwest tower
   Minster
   (Cathedral and Metropolitical Church
     of S.Peter)
   York, (North) Yorkshire, England
   OS Ref. SE 601 519
   LL: N 53.96220, W 1.08313

   St.Mary's Church
   Nelson, Lancashire, England

Site locator map
City locator maps and gazetteer page (County is wrong; other data are correct.)

*Carillonist:

   David E. Potter
   8A Minster Yard
   York  YO1 7HH
   E: davidpotter5040/@/gmail.com
   - and -
   others

*Contact:

   York Minster Visitors Department
   St.Williams College
   College Street
   York  YO1 7JF
   T: 1904/557216   F: 1904/57201
   E: info@yorkminster.org

*Schedule:

   Before Evensong on most weekdays
   (1645-1710)

*Remarks:

   Additional semitone of the chime was G#
   (sharp 4th).  Hung above the ring of
   14 in the opposite tower from
   "Great Peter" (216-2-22 in E flat).
   From 1473 to 1750, a chiming machine
   played tunes on the bells of the ring.
   The expansion from chime to carillon
   incorporated the bells of the former
   Loughborough mobile chime (see below),
   with some new bells.

*Technical data:

   Traditional carillon of 35 bells
   Pitch of heaviest bell is D  in the middle octave
   Keyboard range:     C C   /    C G   
   Transposition is up  2 semitone(s), i.e., from C to D 
   There are two missing bass semitones
   There is an identical practice console
   The instrument was enlarged in 2008
     with bells made by Taylor       
   Prior history:
     In 1989, the instrument was begun with 11 bells
       by Taylor      
       Keyboard range was:     C E   /    NONE  
       There was one added semitone
   No auxiliary mechanisms known
   Tower details not available
   Year of latest technical information source is 2022

The York Minster Website barely mentions any bells.

Taylor news article (Aug.2023) about refurbishment of the practice clavier

A Waymarking page has 12 photos of the building.

A news article reports that the expansion will reach to 35 bells, rather than to 30 as previously reported.

The York Minster Society of Change Ringers no longer offers what was once a fascinating photo tour of the towers, but you can find a photo and description of the chime about halfway down the overview of the bells.  A more extended description can be found on the Technical Details page.  But as of April 2008 there was no information about the planned enlargement.

British Carillon Society page, with 17 photos

Where the initial phase of this work lies in the sequence of output of the Taylor 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 British Isles traditional carillons by pitch (weight).
Ranking among all British Isles traditional carillons by size (number of bells).
Ranking among all British Isles traditional carillons by year of completion.

Index to all tower bell instruments in England.

   This page was built from the database on 14-Oct-24
   based on textual data last updated on 2024/02/06
   and on technical data last updated on 2022/06/22