Bell

Object Name:

Bell

Object ID:

1994.058

Creator:

Vickers Sons & Company -- Manufacturer

Place of Origin:

Sheffield, England

Date:

1873

Description:

A. Steel bell for Concord tower clock (1995.104). Painted black. Two pairs of raised parallel lines around circumference near top, with raised cast lettering, 1" high, between the two bands: "VICKERS SONS & CO LIMITED SHEFFIELD. 1873 PATENT CAST STEEL 6043". Raised cast British coat of arms above upper pair of lines. Raised cast lettering, 1" high, on one side of bell, just above center: "PRESENTED TO THE CITY OF CONCORD. / BY / GEORGE A. PILLSBURY / OCTOBER. 20TH 1873". Four raised parallel lines around circumference near base. Steel mounting plate at top, 12" square, 3/4" thick, with 1" diam. hole at each corner. Rings in key of G. Separate cast steel clapper.

B. Clapper, cast steel. 57.25" long overall. Main piece (ball and shaft) 37" long, 6.25" diam. Bottom end flared outward under ball, with ring below. Top end of shaft fastened in bracket formed of one piece of bent steel with two bolts. Bracket rotates on new bolt attached to cast steel yoke. Yoke 3.6" x 4.3" x 9.4" high. Large bolt, 10" long x 1" diam., in top of yoke, for attaching to top of bell. Pitted and corroded. Clapper is stored in ESN as it is not used in new clock tower (bell is now struck by a new hammer).

Material:

Metal
Steel

Dimensions:

H-46.5 Dia-52 inches

Provenance:

Installed in the clock tower of the Concord Board of Trade building on North Main Street in 1874. Operated with the E. Howard & Co. clock (1995.104) until the tower was taken down in 1951. The clock and bell were removed from Concord and not discovered until the 1980s. The bell was purchased from a dealer in Michigan by Steve Mitchell of the Concord firm Mitchell & Bosworth. NHHS bought the bell on 10/31/1994 from Mitchell & Bosworth, with the full cost funded by Dr. Horace S. Blood.

Credit Line:

Gift of Dr. Horace S. Blood

People:

Pillsbury, George A. (1816-1898)