The Liberty Bell
The new Liberty Bell pavilion, by Independence Hall.
Not to my tastes, this purpose-built, egg box...
Mind you, it serves a porpoise and keeps the bell in a climate-controlled environment.
Not to my tastes, this purpose-built, egg box...
Mind you, it serves a porpoise and keeps the bell in a climate-controlled environment.
And, before you mutter anything about it being a bum bell, because it has a crack in it, er, that's not a crack. It is actually an attempt to make the bell sound nice, instead of like the sound of crows farting.
The original bell was cast in Whitechapel in 1752, but was not hung until early 1753. It cracked on the first hit from the clapper. The bell was broken up and recast in Philadelphia, but sounded no better. The bell was broken up, recast a second time and rehung in the State House Steeple.
No-one liked the sound.
So, a new bell was demanded from the original makers in England. When the new bell arrived, it was agreed that it sounded no better than the existing bell. So the "Liberty Bell" remained where it was in the steeple, and the new Whitechapel bell was placed in the cupola on the State House roof and attached to the clock to sound the hours.
The original bell was cast in Whitechapel in 1752, but was not hung until early 1753. It cracked on the first hit from the clapper. The bell was broken up and recast in Philadelphia, but sounded no better. The bell was broken up, recast a second time and rehung in the State House Steeple.
No-one liked the sound.
So, a new bell was demanded from the original makers in England. When the new bell arrived, it was agreed that it sounded no better than the existing bell. So the "Liberty Bell" remained where it was in the steeple, and the new Whitechapel bell was placed in the cupola on the State House roof and attached to the clock to sound the hours.
The words 'Pass and Stow' that you can see on the bell are the names of the Philadelphia foundrymen who recast the original bell. As for the crack, what you see clearly was deliberately drilled and bolted to make the tone of the bell more pleasing.The actual crack is visible up and to the right of the drilled-out 'crack'.
Click here to go back
Click here to go back
