INTRODUCTION FROM THE LORD MAYOR OF WESTMINSTER |
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The City of Westminster
boasts 10 interesting towers with rings of 8 or more bells, and a plethora of churches and
other buildings with an enviable range of chimed bells, carillons and glockenspiels.
As an active ringer in the City, may I commend this site as an excellent source of
useful information about the rings and their histories.
For those of you who don’t ring, do
follow the link to the website of the Central
Council of Church Bell Ringers to learn more about the fascinating art of English
Church bell ringing.
For those of you who do, I hope you take
the opportunity to visit and join one of the practices held at most of the towers.
Details can be found through the website of the Middlesex County Association and London Diocesan Guild of Change Ringers.
Tim Joiner
Lord Mayor of Westminster
January, 2006 |
Westminster achieved the status of a city in 1540 when it became a
bishopric. Its first recorded civic administration dates from 1586 in the reign of Queen
Elizabeth I, when an Act authorised the establishment of a Court of Burgesses. The London
Government Act of 1899 established 28 Metropolitan Borough Councils, each having an
elected Mayor, Aldermen and Councillors. A Royal Charter was granted on 29th October,
1900, reconfirming the status of Westminster as a City. The new City of Westminster
incorporating the Boroughs of Paddington and St Marylebone was constituted by Royal
Charter on 1st April 1965. This guide examines the bells in this newly constituted city. |
Big Ben |
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| There was a lot of press
coverage when the bells of Westminster Clock Tower were cast, recast, hung and installed.
Here is a selection of articles and illustrations from
newspapers at the time. |
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LINKS |
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To Contact the Web Master |
| This information is taken from a
more complete database, all of which is hoped to become available on this site. Any
corrections, comments or additions would be gratefully received by Dickon R. Love. |
Weights of bells are
given in the manner traditional among ringers, namely using the form cwt-qtr-lbs.
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