[Bell Historians] Trinity NYC

[Michael Wilby]

A lot of what has been written about the Trinity
project is supposition based on little fact, and we
should not lose sight of this. Though not involved
myself, I am close to at least one source that is;
others are also on this list. Without giving much
away the current situation seems to be as follows:

Before "9/11" a project team went to Trinity to
investigate the possibility of installing a new ring;
the church was generally receptive to the project, to
the extent that a structural survey has been
undertaken and its findings employed in the final
proposition. The brand new ring was offered as a
gift, and this offer has been (and still is) accepted.


The well known events of "9/11" followed, the effects
of which on the general population cannot be
underestimated. The concept is that the Trinity bells
will be a fitting memorial to those that lost their
lives. The current stumbling-block would appear to be
with the church appointing a suitable builder to
undertake the considerable alterations required within
the tower. It might not be surprising that it is
quite difficult to find an available builder in New
York these days!

Though Trinity is an extremely wealthy church, it does
not spend any of the income on its own fixtures and
fittings, using the money for charitable work instead.
Thus there is no question of the church paying for
the bells, or that the gift was to "prime the pump"
for fund-raising. The bells have been offered as a
gift, and to the best of my knowledge, that gift has
been accepted; the completion of the project is more a
question of timescales and practicalities, though this
is not to say it is a certainty either.

The Whitechapel bell that was given recently was (I
think) a gift from the Lord Mayor of London to the
Mayor of New York, or something similar. It has
nothing to do with Trinity (it was not given to
Trinity), which is why it is not hung in the tower,
and is being housed outside the church on the
pavement.

Many people on the list should be well aware how long
such projects can take - several years in some cases -
and no one should read the current delay as signal
that nothing further will happen.

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