Custom Big Bells

Bell towers add beauty and tradition to campuses, churches, parks, and other institutions. As America's Bell Specialist, McShane Bell Company has been casting bells for bell towers for over 160 years. Talk to us about your large bell needs. We can custom cast to your bell tower specifications.

Bell Tower Options

There are a number of ways to configure your bell tower. Six or eight bells are the most common arrangement, but many towers have four bells and a few very large towers have dozens of bells. However many the number, they should be tuned to make a pleasing accord when they are rung together.

An important consideration is the size of the largest bells in your tower. A custom-cast large bell adds a beautiful sonority to the bottom of your chime. Often called the bourdon or in England the tenor, this bell can be the pride and joy of your tower.

At McShane Bell Company we can assist you in determining what size would best suit your bell set. Some common sizes for large bells include:

• 83 inches diameter, 12,000 pounds, rings at G2
• 71 inches diameter, 9,000 pounds, rings at Bb2
• 63 inches in diameter, 4,888 pounds, rings at C3
• 36 inches in diameter, 1,000 pounds, rings at A3

Personalize Your Bell

The largest bell in a bell tower is often personalized with a dedicated engraving. It's a nice way to honor a civic official, a historical figure, a saint or a church leader. We can inscribe your bell with the special message of your choice.

McShane can also build the controllers you need for your big bells and provide the installation. From concept to completion, we are with you every step of the way. Talk to our professionals about your ideas and let's bring them to fruition together.

Custom Big Bells

When you hear bell towers chime, what appeals to you? No doubt the lovely tones catch your ear. Perhaps the arrangement is particularly harmonious. If there is a great bell present in the tower, it will surely stand out. Great bells, also known as bourdons or tenors, have been the point of pride in bell towers for centuries.

Big and Bold

McShane Bell Company has been custom building bells of all sizes since 1856. We take special pride in crafting the large bells that adorn bell towers and carillons everywhere. While great bells are traditionally 8,000 pounds or more, large bells of smaller sizes may work for your installation.

As the largest bell in any tower brings prestige and honor to the community that erected it, it is often engraved with a dedication. McShane can add that to your custom bell to make it a true one-of-a-kind musical instrument. Popular dedicatees include saints, prominent civic figures, and whoever donated money for the bell.

Choices and Chimes

McShane can make bells of any size. Some of the larger options include:

• A3 - 1,000 pounds, 36 inches diameter
• F3 - 2,000 pounds, 42 inches diameter
• C3 - 4,800 pounds, 63 inches diameter
• Bb2 - 9,000 pounds, 71 inches diameter
• G2 - 12,000 pounds, 83 inches diameter

Of course, big bells need some attention. From the design to the maintenance or restoration, McShane has you covered. We work with our customers from concept to finish to ensure that the bells are properly cast, installed, and cared for.

We also restore great bells. If you have a bell that has deteriorated past the point of repair, we can restore it or recycle it into a new bell that honors the old.

Ready to plan your bell tower? Talk to us about your dreams for a custom big bell

A Quick History of Bell Towers

Sometimes referred to as a belfry or a campanile, a bell tower is exactly what it sounds like: a tower that contains bells. Often found atop churches throughout the world, these towers are made so that the sound of the bells can be heard over distances. The sound of the bells may indicate the time on the hour, signal that church services are about to begin or commemorate an important moment.

Bell Towers in the Beginning

Ringing bells to call people to worship has happened since the Christian churches introduced it in 400 AD, and bell towers weren't far behind. In fact, the first bell tower was in a church at the beginning of the 5th century. Prior to the 14th century, most bells hung on a simple spindle that Deacons chimed by pulling a rope. They wanted more control over the ringing, though, and soon began mounting the bell to a quarter wheel that used a spindle as an axel.

Modern Day Bell Towers

Today, there are thousands of bell towers across the world. Although they are available in a variety of sizes and created from many different materials, they usually have a similar layout. At the top are often custom bells that spread the sound throughout a community or rural area. The bells hang in a metal or wooden frame and a rope tied to the wheel spokes extends to the ringing chamber. Most bell towers have six or eight bells with some having as many as a dozen or more.

While many ringing bells are automated these days, the towers still feature ringing chambers. The chambers have ropes that people can use to control the bells. Bell ringers stand in a circle to ring the bells and do so in a clockwise motion. Most chambers also have peal boards. These boards are commemorative of notable periods where bells rang non-stop for three hours. The boards may list history dating back hundreds of years.

Are you interested in learning more about bell towers and how you can get large custom bells for your tower? Talk to the professionals at McShane Bell for more information.