WESTMINSTER |
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The Editor hopes to put a short video up on this page to show the performance of these figures in due course. |
DETAILS OF THE BELLS |
Bell Weight Diameter
Note Cast Founder 1
0-0-23 8½" G 1962
Mears & Stainbank 2
0-0-26 9" F sharp 1962
Mears & Stainbank 3
0-1-6 9½" F 1962
Mears & Stainbank 4
0-1-3 9½" E 1962
Mears & Stainbank 5
0-1-13 10½" D 1962
Mears & Stainbank 6
0-1-22 11" C sharp 1962
Mears & Stainbank 7
0-2-1 11½" C 1962
Mears & Stainbank 8
0-2-11 12" B 1962
Mears & Stainbank 9
0-2-5 12½" B flat 1962
Mears & Stainbank 10
0-2-14 13" A 1962
Mears & Stainbank 11
0-2-27 14" G 1962
Mears & Stainbank 12
0-3-3 14½" F sharp 1962
Mears & Stainbank 13
0-3-22 15 F 1962
Mears & Stainbank 14
0-3-21 15½" E 1962
Mears & Stainbank 15
1-1-5 17" D 1962
Mears & Stainbank 16
1-2-11 19" C 1962
Mears & Stainbank 17
3-0-11 24" G 1962
Mears & Stainbank
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HISTORY |
| 1962 | A chime of 17 bells was cast by Mears & Stainbank (June 1962) and installed in a case outside the Fortnum & Mason's shop. They were installed in a 4-tier frame with the tenor in the bottom tier. The clock chimes the Cambridge quarters and hour. The clock's two pavilions are cast in solid bronze and have additional clock faces on their outward facing sides. At the front there are hinged doors which open every hour. Through these appear figures of the store's founders, Mr Fortnum and Mr Mason, each about four feet high. As the clock chimes the hour, the figures move forward, turn towards each other and bow. At the end of the chime an eighteenth century air is played on seventeen bells. The airs include The Lass with the Delicate Air, the mignon Gavotte and the Princess Gavotte. As each tune nears its end the two figures bow to each other once again and return to their respective pavilions. |
PICTURES |
Pictures taken from a visit by Dickon Love, with thanks to the Fortnum & Mason store. |
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Bells on the top tier. |
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Bells on the 3rd tier up. |
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Bells on the 2nd tier up. |
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Bells on the bottom tier, including the tenor in the middle. |
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Another view of the bottom tier from the side. The window to the road is to the right. |
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| The 3rd tier up from the side. |
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| The middle two tiers. |
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| The mechanics of the electric clock. |
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| The control panel for the 17 pairs of solenoids. |
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| The tune machine that plays the airs. |
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The two figures emerging from the clock. |
