Great Paul's Bell

[richard]

Very off topic but whilst reading an excellent historic book on canals there was mention of this bell cast at Loughborough in 1881 for St. Paul's Cathedral London . This weighed in at 16 3/4 tons and was 30 feet in circumference ! Back in 1881 how would this have travelled to London ? Any ideas ?

[Bob Purton]

Its Journey to London took 11 days by road and was pulled on a trailer by a traction engine.

[richard]

Thanks bob , a bit limited on iPhone but didn't see that on www . What I imagined I suppose but the roads were still pretty poor by 1881 weren't they - some risk in the journey one would imagine - phew

[marcus]

The Tsar Kolokov bell in the Kremlin in Moscow is the biggest bell ever made and weighs 192 tons. There was a fire in the foundry when it was cooling in its earth casting pit, and water from the fire fighters caused a large chunk to fracture off. It was never installed in its tower so was placed on the ground and is used as a chapel, the broken part being a convenient door.

[richard]

hmmm but when is a bell not a bell ? surely if it broke before leaving the foundry it can hardly count . whatever was the size of this then and how was this move . If a 16 3/4 ton bell measures 30" across a 192 ton bell .... jeez

[marcus]

I found this on Wiki:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tsar_Bell

I read about this in a book about Percussion instruments many years ago and it seems my memory is about right!

6.6 meters diam apparently, the photos give a good idea.

[Big Al]

The village of Aldbourne, not far distant from me on the Wiltshire end of the Downs, near Marlborough, was a centre for bell casting. Smaller bells were cast there, but prior to easier large transport, the bells could be caste by traveling teams from Aldbourne, at the site of the installation. This called for some skill. Accurate castings being easier to tune. Many local churches still have there Aldbourne bells. Either way the lack of transport restricted the size of bells in the main.

Large bells are prone to fail, and can kill. The low sound waves produced are destructive. The same can be said for gongs.