University News | June 17, 2014

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

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.

You might also like

Stone building with large windows and stairs, under a clear blue sky.

At informational town hall meetings, faculty and staff press administrators for details.

Woman wearing a silver dress stands confidently against a gray background.

The Emmy-winning journalist was a mainstay of political coverage at NBC for two decades.

A man in a suit waves while smiling, with greenery in the background.

He was Harvard’s quintessential people person.

Most popular

Soccer player and goalkeeper Matt Freese standing in front of the net

The former economics concentrator brings his talent for crunching numbers to netminding.

Photo montage showing Harvard’s Widener Library and the edifice of the Supreme Court divided by a gavel.

The Supreme Court Affirmative Action Rulings: An Analysis

The underlying arguments project clashing worldviews of race and appropriate remedies.

White House and Harvard University buildings split diagonally with contrasting colors.

Harvard Weathers a Year of Turmoil

The federal government has launched unprecedented actions against the University. Here’s a guide.

Explore More From Current Issue

Aerial view of modern high-rise buildings surrounded by greenery and city skyline.

Architecture & Design

In a sea of red brick, the Science Center and Peabody Terrace make their mark.

Five individuals are posed in a monochrome outdoor setting near a cinderblock building, some standing, some seated.

Visual Arts

Photographer and writer Morgan Smith chronicles life beyond the violence in Ciudad Juárez and other Mexican towns.

Massachusetts Hall at Harvard Red brick building with a large clock on top, surrounded by green trees.

University News

With a grade inflation vote and in the courts, the University argued that it’s taking steps to change.