2010

By Paul | February 18, 2010

For the past two and a half centuries, Whitechapel have been acknowledged leaders in the production of musical handbells. Handbell ringing began in England about three hundred years ago. Even in those days, the best bells were made ‘at the sign of the three bells’ in Whitechapel. Indeed, it can be said that the whole art of handbell ringing – making molten metal into liquid sound – was built on Whitechapel handbells. Musical handbells, tuned in sets and fitted with leather straps, were introduced in the late 17th century and quickly became popular among tower bell ringers, not only for practicing change ringing, but also for playing simple tunes.The art of tune ringing developed further in the 19th century when competitions were held, mostly in the North of England, between rival bands playing complicated scores and using large numbers of bells. These events were popular with ringers and public alike, and although handbell ringing subsequently went into decline, its revival in the latter part of the 20th century was worldwide. Although over the centuries every opportunity as been taken to improve the manufacturing process, this has never been to the exclusion of traditional craft-based techniques. The result is handbells of a quality which cannot be matched by mass production methods. For more on the making of handbells, follow the links on the left.

Since 1784 the business has been in the hands of the Taylor family. In 1839 the business settled in Loughborough and is now proud to operate the largest bellfoundry in the world.

Petit and Fritsen is a foundry in Holland that has produced handbells since 1690. According to the definition of “What is an ‘English’ handbell,” the Dutch bell can be classified as an “English” handbell. It meets the qualifications of handle, clapper assembly, retaining springs, etc. and it is rung in hand. However, the Dutch bell is tuned differently from those manufactured in England and the United States. The second tuned overtone is the minor third an octave higher (the 10th), rather than the major (perfect) 12th, which gives the Dutch bell a distinct tone, more similar to the tone of a tower bell than to the other handbells.

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