Loughborough Carillon
Encyclopedia
Carillon
A carillon is a musical instrument that is typically housed in a free-standing bell tower, or the belfry of a church or other municipal building. The instrument consists of at least 23 cast bronze, cup-shaped bells, which are played serially to play a melody, or sounded together to play a chord...
and war memorial
War memorial
A war memorial is a building, monument, statue or other edifice to celebrate a war or victory, or to commemorate those who died or were injured in war.-Historic usage:...
in Loughborough
Loughborough
Loughborough is a town within the Charnwood borough of Leicestershire, England. It is the seat of Charnwood Borough Council and is home to Loughborough University...
, Leicestershire
Leicestershire
Leicestershire is a landlocked county in the English Midlands. It takes its name from the heavily populated City of Leicester, traditionally its administrative centre, although the City of Leicester unitary authority is today administered separately from the rest of Leicestershire...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. It is in Queen's Park, and is a well known landmark, visible from several miles away. It is 152 feet (46 m) high.
Plans were finalised in 1919 and when completed in 1923 it was the first grand carillon in England, the concept being associated with Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
where so many British servicemen lost their lives during the 1914–1918 Great War. The Carillon was designed by Sir Walter Tapper
Walter Tapper
Sir Walter Tapper was a British architect known for Gothic Revivalist architecture. On his death in 1935 his son Michael Tapper completed some of his works....
, and is now grade II listed
The carillon has 47 bells, all of which were cast at John Taylor Bell Foundry in Loughborough
Loughborough
Loughborough is a town within the Charnwood borough of Leicestershire, England. It is the seat of Charnwood Borough Council and is home to Loughborough University...
.
The dedication was held on Sunday 22 July 1923, led by Bishop of Peterborough
Bishop of Peterborough
The Bishop of Peterborough is the ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Peterborough in the Province of Canterbury.The diocese covers the counties of Northamptonshire, Rutland and the Soke of Peterborough in Cambridgeshire...
, Frank Theodore Woods
Frank Theodore Woods
Frank Theodore Woods , who latterly signed his name as Theodore Winton:, was Bishop of Peterborough from 1916 to 1923 before being translated to the see of Winchester, where he remained until his death. His brother Edward was Bishop of Lichfield 1937-1953...
and Field Marshal Sir William Robertson.
There are recitals every Thursday (13:00) and Sunday (15.30) throughout the summer.
War Memorial Museum
The tower features the War Memorial Museum, with three floors of military memorabilia. Exhibits include artifacts from each of the armed forces, including one Victoria CrossVictoria Cross
The Victoria Cross is the highest military decoration awarded for valour "in the face of the enemy" to members of the armed forces of various Commonwealth countries, and previous British Empire territories....
.
Access up the tower is via a long spiral staircase
Spiral staircase
Spiral staircase may refer to:* A type of stairway characterized by its spiral shape* The Spiral Staircase , a 1946 American psychological thriller film* The Spiral Staircase , a 1975 British film, a remake of the 1946 film...
, which precludes disabled access except to the ground floor.
The bells
| Bell | Weight | |
|---|---|---|
| hundredweights-quarters-pounds | (metric equivalent) | |
| Treble | 0-0-14 | (6 kg) |
| 2 | 0-0-13 | (6 kg) |
| 3 | 0-0-13 | (6 kg) |
| 4 | 0-0-12 | (5 kg) |
| 5 | 0-0-15 | (7 kg) |
| 6 | 0-0-15 | (7 kg) |
| 7 | 0-0-13 | (6 kg) |
| 8 | 0-0-12 | (5 kg) |
| 9 | 0-0-16 | (7 kg) |
| 10 | 0-0-18 | (8 kg) |
| 11 | 0-0-19 | (9 kg) |
| 12 | 0-0-24 | (11 kg) |
| 13 | 0-0-27 | (12 kg) |
| 14 | 0-1-4 | (15 kg) |
| 15 | 0-1-8 | (16 kg) |
| 16 | 0-1-15 | (20 kg) |
| 17 | 0-1-16 | (20 kg) |
| 18 | 0-1-20 | (22 kg) |
| 19 | 0-2-9 | (29 kg) |
| 20 | 0-2-20 | (34 kg) |
| 21 | 0-3-16 | (45 kg) |
| 22 | 1-0-2 | (52 kg) |
| 23 | 1-0-21 | (60 kg) |
| 24 | 1-1-16 | (71 kg) |
| 25 | 1-2-23 | (87 kg) |
| 26 | 1-3-8 | (93 kg) |
| 27 | 2-0-6 | (104 kg) |
| 28 | 2-1-10 | (119 kg) |
| 29 | 2-3-13 | (146 kg) |
| 30 | 3-2-4 | (180 kg) |
| 31 | 3-3-25 | (202 kg) |
| 32 | 4-3-17 | (249 kg) |
| 33 | 5-1-9 | (271 kg) |
| 34 | 6-0-14 | (311 kg) |
| 35 | 7-1-8 | (372 kg) |
| 36 | 8-3-8 | (448 kg) |
| 37 | 10-1-24 | (532 kg) |
| 38 | 12-1-23 | (633 kg) |
| 39 | 15-1-16 | (782 kg) |
| 40 | 17-3-21 | (911 kg) |
| 41 | 21-2-0 | (1092 kg) |
| 42 | 25-3-25 | (1320 kg) |
| 43 | 31-0-0 | (1575 kg) |
| 44 | 34-1-6 | (1743 kg) |
| 45 | 40-3-25 | (2082 kg) |
| 46 | 60-1-6 | (3064 kg) |
| Tenor | 82-3-16 | (4211 kg) |
External links
- Loughborough Carillon & War Memorial - official site
- Pictures of the Carillon