Chapel Bells Chime Again Restoration Comes As Part of $4.8M Renovation Project
By Zoe Gorman ‘09 and Aditya Rajagopalan ‘09 News Reporter
The bells in the Seymour St. John Chapel are back and ringing on the hour! They were removed approximately six months ago for renovations. The bells were reinstalled November 1st and have just recently begun chiming. “We had the bells taken out and looked at and had work done on them to bring them up to a standard that would last for several years to come,” commented Ms. Paula Welch, Director of Facilities.
“Basically some safety things were done on the main carrying bolts... some of the metal framing around the bells was re-secured,” said Ms. Welch. The hammers and clappers that hit the bells were all taken off and reconditioned. There are also new pulleys and wires connected to the bells.“
[We] had to bring a crane in and put some men way up into the attic there, tie off all the bells and lower each one individually out of the belfry. It was really quite an operation to do it safely,” Ms. Welch remarked.
Although the bells are rung mechanically, there is also a hand chime station that was revamped in addition to the ten main bells. A few people on campus can play these hand chime bells using petals and levers. All of the bells are different sizes and provide various tones.
The refurbished Chapel bells come in light of the renovation project for the entire Chapel, which cost about $4.8 million. “I do [think the Chapel looks a lot different now], especially because it’s not white like all the other buildings. I think that’s really beautiful,” continued Ms. Welch. Aside from the restoration of the bells, another major accomplishment as part of the chapel renovation project is the improvement of the Chapel Basement Theater, now called the Joan Harris Gelb Theater.
When asked about the Chapel bells, Mr. Scott Mattoon, a six-year Choate French teacher who lives in the adjacent Chapel House, said, “They [the bells] were quite the presence relative to where we live.” Mr. Mattoon mentioned that at times the chiming of the bells disturbs his infant daughter’s sleep, as they ring from eight in the morning to five or six in the afternoon. He stated that although they weren’t a nuisance, they certainly weren’t missed.
While Mr. Mattoon (understandably) did not welcome the bells’ return and some students have barely noticed them, others find the tones pleasing and useful. “I love the bells because you can tell when you’re late to class. When there are three or four rings left, you know you have to start sprinting,” said sixth-former Anna Kephart.
The bells are primarily for keeping time and do not have much religious significance.
