[Bell Historians] Valletta

[Carl S Zimmerman]

At 07:58 +0100 2003/08/25, David Kelly wrote:
>There has been mention recently regarding the bells at Poona and 
>Lahore. I visited Lahore a few years ago and it looked to me that 
>the bells had certainly been swung high enough to show light clapper 
>indentations on both sides of the bells. It wouldn't surprise me 
>that they had at some stage been rung full-circle.

Although David's speculation is not unreasonable, it should be 
remembered that *any* free-swinging bell with center clapper will 
strike on both sides if pulled only slightly higher than the point of 
first strike. For many (most? all?) such bells, it's only when the 
ringer's weight is on the rope almost continuously that the bell can 
be restricted to ring only on one side. (Is this what is meant by 
"swing-chiming"?) So clapper indentations on both sides, even if 
very heavy, are no clue as to whether has ever been rung full-circle.

Of the 1000-plus tower bells I've inspected in the St.Louis area, 
I've not found even one with clapper indendations on only one side. 
The closest approximation to this is the very rare cases of *unequal* 
clapper indendation, which typically occur in a bell that hangs 
off-center, sometimes because of a long draught of too-heavy rope has 
been (mis-)fitted.

Carl