Investigation into the strike pitch and partial frequencies of hemispherical bells. […]
Category: Steel tubular and hemispherical bells
Ewald Riepe, Naylor-Vickers and Bochumer Verein
Research published in Germany in 1972, recently drawn to my attention by Heino Strobel, shows that the technology used by Naylor Vickers to cast steel bells was invented by Bochumer Verein in Germany and licensed from them, leading to an extensive collaboration between the two companies. […]
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A Bochumer Verein steel bell in the UK
In the Peace Gardens in the middle of Sheffield, across from the town hall, hangs a steel bell cast in 1955 by Bochumer Verein, presented to the people of Sheffield in 1986. Those who have read the description of German steel bells will not be surprised to know that the bell is broadly true-harmonic. To […]
The largest steel bell in the UK
The largest steel bell in the UK, cast by Naylor-Vickers of Sheffield in 1862, is in St Peter’s Italian Church, Holborn, London. Dickon Love and I visited it on 27 September 2002. This bell is sometimes know as The Steel Monster of Clerkenwell! The bell was exhibited at the International Exhibition of 1862. The exhibition […]
St Mary, Hale, Merseyside
This church, with a 14th century tower and a nave of 1754, was burnt to the ground by vandals in 1977. The original peal of bells, a Dobson 6, were destroyed in the blaze. The church has been completely restored, and now has a unique peal of bells, comprising six steel bells originally hung at […]
The tuning of Hale bells
This article, by John Wilton of the Liverpool Bell Restoration and Maintenance Group, was published in the Ringing World of February 24th, 1984 (no. 3800, pages 161 – 169). I am very grateful to John and the Ringing World for permission to reuse this article. It gives a striking account of what amateurs can achieve […]
Rust and the sound of steel bells
In my article written last year on the acoustics of steel bells, I suggested that although it is often said that rust affects the tone of steel bells, in practice this seems not to be the case. I have observed that Bochumer steel bells of the 1950s and 1960s have true-harmonic partials when measured today, presumably little […]
Steel bells in Britain and Germany
This article was first published in The Ringing World, issue 5523, March 3 2017, page 196, and revised January 2023. In November 2015, I sang in a concert in the Gustav Adolphus Memorial Church in Nuremburg. During the concert, the 3.4 tonne steel tenor rang the curfew, a lovely and captivating sound. The experience inspired […]
Steel, tubular and hemispherical bells
Steel bells Bells are normally cast in an alloy of copper and tin. In the second half of the 19th century, almost 1,000 cast steel bells were produced by Naylor Vickers in Sheffield. These bells have a reputation for poor sound. But in Germany, Bochumer Verein cast huge quantities of steel bells, and from the […]