Reg. Charity No. 1126950
The Bells of St Mary's
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Reg. Charity No. 1126950 The Bells of St Mary's |
The Bells of St Mary's
Yes, these are the bells which inspired the song made famous by Bing Crosby in the film The Bells of St Mary's. The tune was originally written by the Australian composer A Emmett Adams and the lyrics by Douglas Furber, when they heard the bells ringing during 1914. It was introduced into the United States in 1917 and ever since has been the college song of the New York State Maritime College.
The peal now consists of ten bells.
Originally it was an octave, cast at John Taylor's Foundry in
Loughborough,
given in memory of Robert Wingrove by his widow Mary Ann Wingrove in
1913,
and a further two were added in 1934. They were brought to St
Mary's
from the Docks railway station in a horse-drawn procession. The bells
were
severely damaged in the air raid on Southampton in June 1940, and had
to
be recast and rehung in a new frame. The new peal of ten bells was
consecrated
in 1948.
A much more detailed history and
technical description of the bells can be downloaded here
If you are interested in bellringing
you can find out more from the bellringers' website
