A HISTORY OF STRANMILLIS, BELFAST.
ITS VICINITY AND RELATED EVENTS.
-------------------BY DR. H. F. SELWOOD LINDSAY
EXTRACT:
"THE CHURCH BELL"
The historic Church Bell in the tower of Saint Bartholomew's was the fifth of the ancient ring
of eight in Saint Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin, and dates from the thirteen hundreds. After
almost six centuries this old peal was replaced by the present larger ring of fourteen, ten of
which were the gift of Lord Iveagh to mark the Diamond Jubilee of the reign of Queen
Victoria in 1897. Two of the original peal were retained for regular use at Saint Patrick's - the
tenor bell weighing almost 20 cwt. being tolled daily for services there, while the third of the
ring is commonly referred to as ‘the hurry up bell’.
During his tenure of office as Dean of Saint Patrick's (1935-1950), the Very Reverend David
F.R.Wilson, with characteristic thoughtfulness and foresight, was chiefly instrumental in
having their several partners presented to selected Churches in the land, two of these being in
the Northern Capital, Saint Bartholomew's and Saint James, which accordingly possess the
oldest bells not alone in Belfast but in Connor Diocese.
The first mentioned of these weighs nearly half a ton and measures 37¼ inches across the
mouth. It was erected by the Reverend Herbert Lindsay in Memory of his wife, Mrs. Eleanor
Lindsay, and dedicated by Dr. John Frederick MacNeice, Bishop of the United Diocese, on
the evening of Armistice Day 11th November, 1938. A plaque in the north-west porch
recording the event reads thus:
THE BELL IN THE CHURCH TOWER
WAS ERECTED BY
THE REVEREND HERBERT LINDSAY
IN LOVING MEMORY OF HIS WIFE, ELEANOR,
WHO ENTERED INTO REST, OCT. 20th, 1936
Heb.X, 22-23.
The first to ring the bell after the dedication ceremony was the Rector, followed by the
Reverend Ralph Stone, M.A. (brother of Mrs. Lindsay) and her son. At the outset, a long rope
stretched from the belfry to the North-west porch, where the bell was rung manually.
The special preacher on this occasion was the Very Reverend Edward A. Myles, Dean of
Dromore, who, in the course of an impressive tribute, referred to Mrs. Lindsay's devoted
service to the Church in four parishes, three of them on the other side of the Atlantic.
Whether trudging through snows of eastern Canada or climbing the stairways of Belfast's
Warehouses, she had always succeeded in collecting substantial sums of money for the
immediate needs of the parish in which she was serving. She had been an indefatigable
worker in every branch of parish life, laying particular emphasis on religious instruction and
the care and guidance of the young. She was also a very successful producer of plays. It was,
indeed, with good reason that her husband had often said of her that she was worth two
curates to him. The bell just dedicated would serve as a perpetual reminder of her sweet
influence for good in their midst and would call their worshippers to assemble regularly in
this temple of God for prayer and praise and thanksgiving.
The history of the bell is a fascinating one, and among the many historic occasions on which
it was rung are included the marriage of Queen Mary with Philip of Spain, the Accession of
Queen Elizabeth I in 1558 and that of every successive British Sovereign down to Queen
Victoria. It sounded forth in thanksgiving for the great victory over the Spanish Armada in
1588, the first ever wreck of which was discovered nearly four centuries later off {Port na
Spaniagh and landed at} Port Ballintrae on the North Antrim Coast by Robert Stenuit, a
Belgian diver and writer, leading a party which comprised two other Belgians and two
Frenchmen. During the Commonwealth period there is little to note, but after the Restoration
the old bell rang, in concert with its fellows, in a joyous carillon at the Victories of Derry
(1689), the Boyne (1690) and Aughrim (1691). In 1695, at the charge of Dean Thomas
Lindsay of Saint Patrick's, the bell was recast by one Henry Paris, renowned for similar work
elsewhere in Dublin and other parts. The legend in rhyme associated with his recast is in the
quaint English of the period:
"Henry Paris made me with good sound
To be fifth in eight, when all ringe round"
This indicates the position in the ring which the bell occupied in 1695 and which it
subsequently retained. The old chimes again filled the air in 1798 for the victory of Nelson at
Aboukir in the Battle of the Nile, and it is an interesting commentary on the pace at which
news used to travel in those days that although this battle was fought on August 1st, the
victory peal was not heard until October 25th!
In 1805 the bells were heard again, this time in muffled tones in honour of the deceased hero
of Trafalgar; while in 1815 they rang out yet again, in a great crescendo, for the victory of
Wellington at Waterloo.
The fifth of the ring was recast in 1864 for Sir B.L. Guinness, with the additional inscription
"Spea Mea in Deo, B.L.G. 1864" - John Murphy, Dublin.
As already indicated, it came with its centuries of history to the tower of Saint Bartholomew's
to be first heard in Stranmillis on 11th November, 1938.
In 1945 this bell proclaimed in Belfast the final victory of the Allied Forces in the Second
World War immediately news was received. In 1952 it rang out once again, this time, in
proclamation of the Accession of Queen Elizabeth II having fulfilled, as we have seen, a like
function in the tower of Saint Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin, on the Accession of Queen
Elizabeth I, almost four centuries earlier.