Tower Bells 

The Bell Tower
The Chicago partnership of Edward J. Burling and William Backus is credited with the design of the parish's 1857 building, the first on the present site. As designed, the west façade of Saint James Church had a tall central bell tower. From 1867-1869, during the time that the City of Chicago's Water Tower rose 154 feet above the neighborhood two blocks north and east of Saint James, the church's bell tower was moved northward a few yards and raised to a new height of 135 feet.

On December 24, 1870, a service of celebration was held in the newly reconfigured building, and in September of 1871 it was formally dedicated. But before dawn on the second day of the Great Chicago Fire, October 9, 1871, the flames passed through the renovated church, leaving intact the shell of the apparently gutted bell tower. The first service in the rebuilt church was on Saturday, October 9, 1875, four years after the Fire's fury.


The Gift of the Chime
In 1876, the repaired bell tower was made complete by the generous gift of a Chime by the children of Mr. James Carter. His two sons, Leslie and Ernest, and two daughters, Isabella W. and Helen L., gave the bells as a permanent memorial to their father. Inscribed upon the Chime's largest bell, the tenor, is this message:

"This Chime of Ten Bells is given to St. James Church, Chicago, Ill., in Memory of James Carter. Born at Aberdeen, Scotland, May 29, 1817. Died at New York City, April 18, 1873. By his Children, Christmas, 1876."

James Carter was a successful banker in Galena, Illinois. A generous supporter of the Episcopal church there, Mr. Carter moved to Chicago in 1860. He was among the first to respond to the effort of the Second Bishop of the Diocese of Illinois, the Right Rev. Henry John Whitehouse, to establish the Cathedral Church of Saints Peter and Paul.

In addition to the dedicatory inscription on the tenor bell, the Morning Prayer Invitatory Psalm Venite, Exultemus is inscribed on the Chime. Beginning with the tenor, there is one verse on each bell, with the last verse divided between the two smallest. The text, taken from the 1789 American Book of Common Prayer, consists of Psalm 95:1-7, and Psalm 96:9, 13. It begins with these words:

"O come, let us sing unto the Lord; let us heartily rejoice in the strength of our salvation. Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving; and show ourselves glad in His psalms." 

Meneely Bells
A chime is an instrument of between 8 and 22 cast bronze cup-shaped tower bells. (A carillon, by contrast, has 23 or more such bells.) The James Carter Memorial Chime is one of the earliest bell installations by an important American foundry with an 80-year history. Furthermore, information seems to indicate that this Chime is the only surviving 19th century carillon-type instrument in Illinois, and the fourth oldest in the western Great Lakes region. And it is believed that, outside of the original 13 colonies, the Carter Chime is the nation's oldest operating set of at least ten pitched bells that has not been altered in size or location since its manufacturer's installation.

The Chime was cast and installed by Meneely and Kimberly of Troy, New York, the center of the 19th century American bell industry. For some reason, two older Meneely sons kept the third, Clinton Hanks Meneely, out of the family foundry after he returned home from the Civil War. However, in 1870, in partnership with George H. Kimberly, Clinton established a rival firm. Kimberly left the firm in 1880, but the younger Meneely remained, and the firm operated until 1952. The melted bronze used by Meneely and Kimberly to create the Carter Chime was composed of "Lake Superior copper and new tin, in the proportion of 78 to 22." The earliest available account of the bell weights is 10,785 pounds (about five tons):

Bell	Pitch	Weight	Diameter (inches)
1	E-flat	3,100	52.75
2	F	2,000	46.5
3	G	1,550	42.25
4	A-flat	1,225	39
5	B-flat	825	33
6	C	525	29.75
7	D-flat	475	29.5
8	D	450	28.25
9	E-flat	360	26
10	F	275	23.25

The Chime's ten fundamental pitches comprise a diatonic scale in the key of E-flat Major, with an added high F (the ninth) and D-flat (the flatted seventh). These ten notes enable tonal melodies to be played in E-flat or A-flat Major, and modal tunes in F or C minor.

The cost of the Chime to the four Carter children was roughly $7,000. (In contrast, the replacement cost of the Chime was estimated in 2001 at a minimum of $200,000.) Installation of the bells in the top-level room of the five-level tower occurred around the third week of December, 1876, supervised by Clinton H. Meneely. Each bell was apparently hoisted into place through the center of the tower, through a series of three trap doors. Inside the tower's belfry, or bell chamber, nine of the bells were hung from metal beams in a fixed position. The tenor was hung on a wheel above the others. The Chime was played mechanically.

A special service and concert of dedication for the Chime was held on December 20, 1876; the Right Rev. William Edward McLaren, Third Bishop of Illinois, blessed the Chime. The concert was played by Mr. Walter Marsh, chimer at Saint Peter's Episcopal Church in Albany, New York. The hymn "Coronation" ("All Hail the Power of Jesus' Name") was the first tune played. Marsh also played "Adeste Fideles" ("O Come, All Ye Faithful"), and others, like "Home Sweet Home."

The 20th Century
In the few years after Saint James became the Cathedral Church of the Diocese of Chicago in 1955, the controls for the tower Chime were electrified and relocated to the Musicians' Gallery in the north transept. Installed by the Verdin Company of Cincinnati, Ohio, the new keyboard was a small electronic box with organ keys.

By the 1990s, the condition of the Chime had sadly deteriorated. Age, pigeons, weather and neglect combined to make all but four of the bells unplayable, with electrical problems endangering two more. A Music and Arts Ministry capital campaign was launched in 1998 to raise $600,000 for three goals, including the restoration of the Chime.

Chime Restored
The Chime was restored in 1999 and is now maintained under contract by the Verdin Company. The bell chamber was cleaned, and new electronic hammers were installed on the outside of each bell. New control mechanisms were installed as well, centered in an area on the west wall of the Musicians' Gallery. There are two parts to the controls, the computerized, programmable Digital Bell Controller 2000 and an electronic piano-like keyboard in a small oak console similar to a writing desk. The Right Rev. William D. Persell, Eleventh Bishop of the Diocese of Chicago, rededicated the Chime on November 28, 1999.   
 

         — Paul Thompson, Cathedral Carilloneur