The north-west tower bells: technical details

The north-west tower contains the clock bells, a chime of six (the quarter bells) and the the bourdon and hour bell 'Great Peter'

Treble

crown: (a) (?)77 / (b) 447
inscription band: (vine leaf border)
upper waist: (border of gothic arcading)
middle and lower waist: (a) GIVEN BY / THE PEOPLE OF THE CITY OF YORK / TO CELEBRATE THE LIFE OF / HER MAJESTY QUEEN ELIZABETH THE QUEEN MOTHER / CAST IN THE CENTENARY YEAR / OF HER BIRTH, / 2000 A. D. / (b) (Taylor mark in wreath)
(41”, 13-1-13)

2nd

crown: (a) 225 / (b) 447
inscription band: (vine leaf border)
upper waist: (border of gothic arcading)
middle and lower waist: (a) GIVEN BY / THE PEOPLE OF NORTH YORKSHIRE / TO CELEBRATE THE LIFE OF / HER MAJESTY QUEEN ELIZABETH THE QUEEN MOTHER / CAST IN THE CENTENARY YEAR / OF HER BIRTH, / 2000 A. D. / (b) (Taylor mark in wreath)
(45¾", 17-3-7)

3rd

crown: (a) 582 / (b) 447
inscription band: (vine leaf border)
upper waist: (border of gothic arcading)
middle and lower waist: (a) GIVEN BY / THE PEOPLE OF SOUTH YORKSHIRE / TO CELEBRATE THE LIFE OF / HER MAJESTY QUEEN ELIZABETH THE QUEEN MOTHER / CAST IN THE CENTENARY YEAR OF HER BIRTH, / 2000 A. D. / (b) (Taylor mark in wreath)
(51½", 25-1-18)

4th

crown: (a) 282 / (b) 447
inscription band: (oak leaf border)
upper waist: (border of gothic arcading)
middle and lower waist: (a) GIVEN BY / THE PEOPLE OF WEST YORKSHIRE / TO CELEBRATE THE LIFE OF / HER MAJESTY QUEEN ELIZABETH THE QUEEN MOTHER / CAST IN THE CENTENARY YEAR / OF HER BIRTH, / 2000 A. D. / (b) (Taylor mark in wreath)
(54¼”, 30-0-3)

5th

inscription band: (oak leaf border)
upper waist: (border of gothic arcading)
middle and lower waist: (a) GIVEN BY / THE PEOPLE OF / THE EAST RIDING OF YORKSHIRE / TO CELEBRATE THE LIFE OF / HER MAJESTY QUEEN ELIZABETH THE QUEEN MOTHER / CAST IN THE CENTENARY YEAR / OF HER BIRTH, / 2000 A. D. / (b) (Taylor mark in wreath)
(60¾", 41-1-12)

Tenor

crown: (a) 330 / (b) 447
inscription band: (oak leaf border)
middle and lower waist: (a) GIVEN BY / THE DEAN AND CHAPTER OF YORK / THE FRIENDS OF YORK MINSTER / AND / THE YORK MINSTER FUND / TO CELEBRATE THE LIFE OF / HER MAJESTY QUEEN ELIZABETH THE QUEEN MOTHER / CAST IN THE CENTENARY YEAR / OF HER BIRTH, / 2000 A. D. / (b) (Minster shield, bearing a crown and the crossed keys of St Peter)
(68¼", 60-1-17 in Bb)

Great Peter

shoulder: (border of inverted trefoil cresting - small size)
inscription band: SANCTJ PETRJ APOSTOLJ CAMPANA MAGNA VOCOR (oak leaf border) JTERVM FVSA A. D. MCMXXVJJ (oak leaf border)
upper waist: (border of trefoil cresting - large size)
mid waist: (a) (Minster shield, bearing a crown and the crossed keys of St Peter. The shield is surmounted by a mitre) / (b) (Taylor mark in roundel)
lower waist: (border of inverted trefoil cresting - large size)
soundbow: (acanthus leaf border)
lip: (border of inverted trefoil cresting - small size)
(104", 216-2-22 in Eb)

The inscription on Great Peter is in South Somercotes lettering, and those on the quarter bells in Roman script. All seven bells are canonless castings, and are machine tuned with true harmonics. The quarter bells are tuned diatonically in the Major mode. As cast, prior to tuning and drilling, Great Peter weighed 245-0-9.

The quarter bells are fitted with external electro-magnetic hammers, and are hung from double-channel deadstocks in a two-tier galvanised steel frame with the 2nd, 3rd and 4th in the upper tier. The fittings and framework are all by Taylor’s and of 2000.

Great Peter is hung for manual slow swinging, and is the largest so-hung bell in the British Isles. Its fittings consist of a deeply arched cast iron slow-swinging headstock (which weighs four tons), ball bearings, a traditional wheel (with the garter hole in the slow swinging position, at the top), and a cheese-section counterbalanced clapper (which weighs 26 cwt). The bell is fitted with two pulley boxes and ropes, one coming off of either side of the wheel. One rope, with a six-foot-long sally and a short tail-end, is used for swinging the bell whilst the other simply serves as a guide to how high the bell is swinging. Great Peter swings about one-third of the way up, and can comfortably be rung by one person.

There is also a large clock hammer fitted to Great Peter. This was installed along with the bell in 1927, but was only connected up to strike the hours when the new quarter bells were installed in 2000. The striking unit is positioned in the tolling chamber, beneath the bell chamber, and is activated by a computerised control unit which takes a time signal from Rugby. This unit also operates the quarter bells.

Great Peter, which was the sole occupant of the tower until 2000, hangs in a massive oak lowside frame installed in 1845 by Charles Oliver, Whitechapel's bellhanger, for the original Great Peter. The frame is positioned diagonally in the tower, from south west to north east, no doubt with the aim that the loading imposed by the bell would be spread evenly onto all four walls. The original Great Peter was cast in 1845 by C & G Mears, and weighed 200-0-14 in F. It had ornamented canons of traditional layout, and was hung for ringing with two wheels and four pulley boxes: three of the four rope guides can still be seen in the tolling chamber.
 

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