(This page was updated Saturday, June 15, 2024, to correct the information about the dedication inscription on the number one bell.)
The Jefferies Chime is an instrument of ten hand-rung tower bells at the corner of McCallum and West Tulpehocken Streets in the Germantown section of northwest Philadelphia. The bells were given in 1899 by Elizabeth B. Jefferies in memory of her husband, Edwin Jefferies, who had been a vestryman for 25 years at what was then Christ Church, Germantown. Edwin Jefferies died at the age of 83 on March 28, 1899 (the day before his wife's 86th birthday). She had the chime designed, cast, and installed by Wednesday, December 13, 1899 when it was dedicated. The bells were played for the first time on Christmas Day, Monday, December 25, 1899 so the chime rang out the last Christmas of the 1800's and rang in the first New Year of the 1900's a week later.
The bells were cast and installed by the Meneely Bell Company of Troy, New York. The total weight of all ten bells is 7,672 pounds. The largest (tenor) bell weighs 2,004 pounds and the smallest (treble) bell weighs just about 200 pounds. (For comparison, the Liberty Bell originally weighed 2,080 pounds.) The Jefferies Chime has not been modified in any significant way since its installation in 1899. The bells are still hanging from the original wood framework (bellframe) and are played from the original chimestand (console).
The bell tower.
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| Faith, Meekness, and Temperance: The three smallest bells. |
In accordance with the Meneely notation system, the bells, from the largest to smallest are numbered 1 through 9 with the flat seventh labeled 7♭. The 7♭, 7, and 9 handles on the chimestand each have lockout devices that can hold down the handle if it is not being used on a particular piece of music. Each bell has an inscription on it: Number 1 is the dedication bell and numbers 2 through 9 are named based on "the fruit of the Spirit" passage from the epistle of Saint Paul to the Galatians, Chapter 5, verses 22 and 23:
The dedication inscription on the number one bell reads:
In Memoriam
Edwin Jefferies
Presented to Christ Church
Germantown, Philadelphia
Rev. Charles Henry Arndt, Rector
Christmas A. D. 1899
by
his widow
Elizabeth B. Jefferies
The Spirit and the Bride say Come
And let him that heareth say Come
The fruit of the Spirit is -
"The fruit of the Spirit is -" then leads to the names of the other nine bells:
2. Love
3. Joy
4. Peace
5. Longsuffering
6. Gentleness
7♭. Goodness
7. Faith
8. Meekness
9. Temperance
The dedication on the plaque in the narthex (the church vestibule at the base of the tower) reads:
The chimes in this tower were
erected by Elizabeth Jefferies
to the glory of God and in
loving memory of her husband
Edwin Jefferies
who was for twenty-five years
a vestryman of this parish
MDCCCXCIX
Updated 23 November 2015:
The "lockouts" on the chimestand.
An interesting detail on the chimestand is the use of "lockouts" for the numbers 7, 7-flat, and 9 keys (notes B-flat, B, and D in terms of a C-scale). With no distinction in the physical properties of the chimestand keys (or handles) between whole tones and half tones, such as a piano that has black keys (raised and in back) and white keys (lower and in front), the chimestand was equipped with lockouts to help the bell ringer find and play the right key. While a bit oversimplified, the 7-flat key is locked out when playing in the key of C and the 7 key is locked out when playing in the key of F. In other words, the key not being used is locked down where it cannot be played. The 9 key can be locked down for pieces that don't go above the C-scale.
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| The 7-flat key locked out |
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| Close-up of the lock-out |
Other items of hardware that can be seen on the chimestand are the brackets that were used with a locking bar to prevent unauthorized playing of the bells:
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| Close-up of the bracket on the right side of the chimestand |
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| Chimestand with 1x2 placed through the brackets in place of an actual lockbar |
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| Another view of the bar in place |
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