Did churches stop ringing bells?

[wolfman]

Something just occured to me, I don't think I've heard church steeple bells in 10 years.

When I was growing up I heard them all the time. Bonging out the hours, or codes for weddings or funerals etc. But I just dont hear them anymore. It could be that I don't live close enough to a church or something, but I don't remember hearing them driving around town or whatever.

Did they get noise ordinanced out of usage, or is it just a new style to keep them very muted or what?

[Zsofia]

I hear them all the time chiming the hour and such. They're never quite accurate.

[si_blakely]

I hear them all the time chiming the hour and such. They're never quite accurate.We stayed in Tewkesbury last month, at a caravan camp near the Abbey. On the Saturday morning, the bells started ringing a peal at 10:00am and rang continuously for 3 hours (in addition to ringing the hours and quarters and services). I was nearly going bonkers by the end.

Our village church rings bells to announce services - some people dislike the 9:00am Sunday bells, but the vicar enjoys it, and the church has the right to do so, so we do. I like it.

Si

[toadspittle]

The Catholic church in my neighborhood here (Portland) rings its bells quite frequently. At least daily. On Sundays, I hear many church bells in the city.

[Quartz]

In WW2 British church bells were silenced as they were to be used to announce an invasion.

[SomeUserName]

The Catholic church down the street from us rings the bell at noon and six everyday during the week. They also ring the bell at 9am for Sunday Mass.

[Eureka]

A lot of churches may not have a steeple bell, or if they have one may not ring it. In some places, yes, they may have been noise ordinanced away, but I think it's more common for it just to not be convenient to have someone ring the bell on a regular basis.

But there are still churches which ring bells.

[Sigmagirl]

Some newer churches have recordings of bells played through loudspeakers.

[Ike Witt]

The church across the street from me had been ringing their bells every Sunday morning at 10:00. I noticed them when I first moved into this apartment in March, however the bells have not rung for the about the last 4 or 5 Sundays.

[gotpasswords]

Some newer churches have recordings of bells played through loudspeakers.
Ughhh... About twenty years ago, a church near my mother's house ditched its traditional carillion and replaced it with something that looked like part of an oil drilling rig, complete with awful electronic noises. In addition to sounding bad, the thing was screwy and would sound off at the wrong times, or play a couple dozen bongs at 2 in the afternoon. The surrounding neighborhood complained about as loudly as the PA system itself, and the church wound up having to fix it and cut both the volume and the frequency of use.

On the other hand, there is a church about a block from my downtown office that still has a real steeple with at least one real bell, and they use it daily.

[Chronos]

The church I attend rings the bells shortly before each mass on the weekends, but I don't think they do it for the daily masses or for the hours. On the other hand, the administrative building in the middle of campus has a bell tower, too, and they do ring the hours.

There's a church in Cork, Ireland that not only still rings the bells on a regular basis, but they let any old tourist who comes to see the church ring them, too. They have a full octave, and you can play simple tunes on them.

[Paintcharge]

The village church around the corner from my house only rings the call-to-worship bells on Sunday mornings.

The big university on the hill rings the hours, but I think that comes from a tower, not he chapel.

[CaerieD]

The Lutheran church across the street from my house rings its bells throughout the day on the hour, as well as for funerals and such. One thing I particularly like about it is that around Christmastime they'll ring out snippets of Christmas carols.

These days I don't notice it much, since it's such a regular occurrence. Only the funerals or if somebody plays a particularly recognizable tune will catch my attention anymore.

[cbawlmer]

There's a Catholic church down the street from us that occasionally rings its bells, though I've only heard them a few times when I happened to be outside at the right moment.

[DJ Motorbike]

There is a church that plays songs on their bells here at 12:35 and 6:35 pm every day. I like it.

[Skammer]

At my church we ring the bell approximately 10 minutes before each service, to remind people to put down their coffee cups and come inside because we're about to get started. It's the job of the ushers to remember to ring it, which they often forget.

[Spectre of Pithecanthropus]

I don't know if they ever have here in L.A., where I've lived nearly all my life, and I'm 50. The only place I ever heard the hours struck here was on the UCLA campus.

However, when I visted San Francisco the first time, around 1993, I heard church bells striking the hours frequently; it was one more of the many different things I noticed between it and my hometown.

[MikeS]

Some newer churches have recordings of bells played through loudspeakers.A church near my college campus had one of those things when I was there (about 8 years ago.) Even when the infernal thing was working properly, it still didn't sound that good.

[Beware of Doug]

IIRC, many churches gave their bells to the scrap drives in WW2 and didn't replace them.

Most that remain tend to be in larger churches, and rung only on special occasions.

Whoever got rid of live bells for electronics probably didn't have a carillon. That's at least 23 bells, a serious installation typically meriting a specialist player (called a carillonneur).

[Patty O'Furniture]

The Netherlands Carillion (http://lh4.ggpht.com/_BuaY4m2iIVI/R7TkQluJAeI/AAAAAAAAAQY/JlDHFxhvEMs/FreedmansRes14.JPG) in Arlington, near the Marina Corps War memorial in Arlington VA. Close-up of the bells (http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3255/2550714358_7524111a89.jpg?v=0).

There are plenty of bell towers in midtown DC. The New York Avenue Presbyterian Church tower (http://lh6.ggpht.com/_fWJ_PUfT18M/RhrNuskVCcI/AAAAAAAAIFg/DhSqP8utvlE/101_6142.JPG) keeps quite good time.

[SpoilerVirgin]

However, when I visted San Francisco the first time, around 1993, I heard church bells striking the hours frequently; it was one more of the many different things I noticed between it and my hometown.The most famous bells in San Francisco are the chimes of the Ferry Building (http://www.ferrybuildingmarketplace.com/history.php) clock tower, which was completed in 1898. They chime every quarter hour. The clock tower was modeled after the bell tower of the Seville cathedral in Spain.

[slaphead]

Some newer churches have recordings of bells played through loudspeakers.
When I went to a friend's wedding in Modica (http://www.costaiblea.com/images/modica1.jpg) , Sicily, I learned that most churches in Italy seem to reserve their bells for really special occasions. For the ordinary bell-ringing which starts at about 0700 and goes on what seems like every half-hour for the rest of the day, they prefer recordings of a garden gate being beaten to death with a rusty tire iron by an epileptic gorilla. And there are literally dozens of churches in that place. Just greeeeeat when you have a hangover.

[gigi]

Some newer churches have recordings of bells played through loudspeakers.
That's like the switch from real votive candles to push-button electric candles.

[BJMoose]

An outfit called Schulmerich (http://www.schulmerichbells.com/category.php?cat_id=4) has been making electronic carillons for ages.

Their quality and accuracy depend upon the folks using the things. Just this week I attended a funeral at a church where, obviously, they missed the change to Daylight Savings time. It's also tolling the hour a few minutes after the hour. Either no one working there has noticed, or they just can't figure out how to set the time. (I'll give 'em a hint: press the button marked "time of day", punch in the current time, and hit enter!) Sheesh.

The old 1887 city hall building downtown (now the county historical museum) has a large electronic carillon that chimes quarter hours a la Westminster, and plays a tune at noon. It also has a keyboard, upon which the old local organ professor plays carillon concerts on certain holidays.

[KRSOradio]

I noticed that the churches in my area ring their bells, in fact one rings it regularly everyday. I am wondering though it doesn't seem they are as loud as when I was a kid. My hearing is still good so I wonder if the churches did somehow manage to get their bells modified to ring softer?

[elbows]

In the centre of my city, and within earshot of my house, are a couple of different churches and a cathedral.

They regularly ring their bells. The cathedral still marks every fifteen minute interval and chimes the hour, every hour.

There is also a carillon, a gift from The Netherlands to the city. It seems the forces from this city's military base played a major role in the liberation there. Who knew? On one of the anniversaries of the occasion, a few years ago, they presented this to the city, along with a beautiful monument and plaque.

It rings beautiful songs, one every hour, I believe. At Christmas it plays carols, very lovely when the park is covered in snow and skaters are on the little rink. A very thoughtful gift, and much enjoyed.

I should take a picture. (Hmmm, that gives me an idea for another thread entirely!)

[HeyHomie]

The monastery next door to where I work has a steeple with a little mini-carillon. The bells ring every quarter hour (once at 15 after, twice at 30 after, etc.), plus a certain song every morning at 8:00.

[kniz]

Some newer churches have recordings of bells played through loudspeakers.

:rolleyes: "how impressive"

[Cunctator]

The bells at my (Catholic) Church are rung on Sundays at each mass, and also three times a day for the Angelus.

[Lust4Life]

Theres a church very close to me that still rings its bells on Sunday and has a practice session on Wednesday evening.

I'm not very religious myself but I love the sound because it makes the world a slightly more interesting place.

[Petrobey Mavromihalis]

I live in rural Greece, about 50m from a church. They ring their bells at 7am, 7.30am and 8am every Sunday. They do the same on every important Saint's day, of which there seem to be an inordinate amount.

If anyone is missing the sound of bells (I am not) then can I recommend the wonderful BBC Radio 4 programme Bells on Sunday (http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00czlw4/). It's a recording of a different church's bells broadcast every Sunday. Honestly not a joke. The great thing is they all sound exactly the same.