The center of Harvard Yard will once again be filled with the sonorous clang of a large bell, after a new one was installed yesterday in Memorial Church’s belfry. In June 2011—two months after the bell company Chime Master Systems installed a new clapper—Memorial Church officials noticed that the previous bell “was making a funny sound,” and soon realized that it had cracked. After determining that the new clapper had caused the crack, the University sued the installers. The original 5,000-pound bell—donated in 1932 by University president emeritus A. Lawrence Lowell, class of 1877—was deemed no longer usable, and was replaced by an electronic speaker that rang out over Harvard Yard at 8:40 a.m., every hour on the hour from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., and during Commencement; after this year’s ceremony, the speaker was removed. The John Taylor Bell Foundry in the United Kingdom, the same company that cast the original bell in 1926, also produced the new bell.
Harvard’s Memorial Church gets new bell
After a two-foot crack appeared in 2011, the old bell is finally replaced.
A new bell was installed yesterday in Memorial Church’s belfry. | Photograph by Jim Harrison
Photograph by Jim Harrison
Photograph by Jim Harrison
Photograph by Jim Harrison
You might also like
Cancellations, Disruptions as Harvard Graduate Student Strike Enters Second Week
Some faculty complain about the protests’ effect on students.
FAS Reports Financial Stability, But Rising Debt
Leaders say the cost of consultants and severance will be recouped within 18 months.
As Union Protests Continue, Stephen Colbert and Yo-Yo Ma Event at Harvard Cut Short
A conversation between the comedian and the celebrated cellist was interrupted by a fire alarm in Sanders Theatre.
Most popular
Explore More From Current Issue
The Harvard triathlete and coach says she helps normal people to “do extraordinary things.”
Artists Enzo Camacho and Ami Lien turn a colonial symbol from Cambodia inside out.
Take this quiz on six healthy habits that Harvard doctors recommend