[Bell Historians] Eddystone Lighthouse bells.

[Carl S. Zimmerman]

Websurfing for more information about the Eddystone Lighthouse bells, 
I ran across some interesting stuff about how the fourth (?) version 
of that lighthouse was built of interlocking stones and wedges. I 
also found (but failed to bookmark) a drawing which indicated that 
the two bells of the Eddystone Lighthouse were rung by top-pivoted 
external chiming hammers similar to those used in Dutch chimes and 
carillons hung in cupolas.

I also found a fine photo of a fog bell which I had seen in person 
some years ago. It originally hung on the Minots Ledge lighthouse, 
offshore from Cohasset, Massachusetts, and you can read about it here:
http://home.comcast.net/~debee2/mass/Minots.html

At the bottom of that page is a photo of the replica of the lantern 
room of that lighthouse, now located on the mainland. The third 
Minot's Ledge lighthouse was built with the same stone-wedged 
technique used for the Eddystone and Bell Rock lighthouses. Clearly 
shown in this picture is the fog bell, mounted on a 4-legged internal 
stand which originally stood on a catwalk around the top of the 
lighthouse below the lantern room. The bell was struck by an 
internal hammer which is pivoted through a slot in the top of the 
bell, and is moved by a horizontal rod through the wall of the 
lighthouse to the internal machinery which rotated the light. The 
bell was cast by William Blake of Boston (Mass.), successor to Henry 
N. Hooper of the same city. Somewhere amongst my unfiled notes is a 
record of the inscription and date on the bell; unfortunately I can't 
quote it from memory.

Carl