Ames, Iowa, June 16-19, 1999
The Stanton Memorial Carillon began as a chime of ten bells cast and tuned by the Taylor foundry of Loughborough, England. These were the first tuned bells made by Taylor, and the first set of bells in North America tuned according to the principles developed by the English clergyman Rev. A.B. Simpson. With the addition of 26 Taylor bells in 1929 the instrument became a carillon. More bells, all by Taylor, were added in 1956 and 1967, resulting in the present carillon of 50 bells.
The bourdon (largest bell) weighs 5,600 lbs and sounds B-flat. The carillon is non-transposing with a range of B-flat to C. The carillon and tower underwent a major renovation from 1992 to 1994. The playing and practice keyboards were built by Meeks, Watson & Co. in 1994 to the North American Standard. Except for the low B, the carillon is fully chromatic.
Created 7/2/96; last revised 2007/07/01