*Location:
(in storage) Fall River, Massachusetts, USA*Former Location (1886-1990):
B.M.C. Durfee High School [old]
between Rock and High Streets,
Cherry and Locust Streets
Fall River, Massachusetts, USA
*Contact:
B.M.C. Durfee High School [new] 360 Elsbree Street Fall River, MA 02720-7298 T: (508)675-8100 - or - "Save the Durfee Bells" c/o Janice Curry, Secretary 4380 North Main Street Fall River, MA 02720-1711 H: (508)675-4651 - or - Lester Cory, Chairman 45 Summit Avenue Tiverton, RI 02878-4632 H: (401)624-2378 W: (508)999-8482
*Remarks:
Old school closed in 1978, and was converted to a state courthouse in early 1990s; bells removed during conversion. Smallest bell disappeared after removal. Reinstallation in a new location is in planning. Un-reused bells from FALL RIVER - CH (see 'Former chimes', below) are also stored here. Aug.2004: 9 bells retuned at Meeks, Watson & Co.; a replacement for the missing bell will be cast to a Meneely pattern. Apr.2008: Tower site chosen on grounds of [new] B.M.C.Durfee High School; tower design to be unveiled May 2008; will allow addition of 4 more bells.
*Technical data:
Chime-sized instrument (without any workable playing mechanism) of 10 bells
Pitch of heaviest bell is D# in the middle octave
The whole instrument was installed in 1886
with bells made by Meneely/Wvlt
Year of latest technical information source is 1992
*Links:
The origin of the first B.M.C.Durfee High School building.
An old Visitor's Guide to Bristol County contains a more detailed description of the old building, and mentions the chime.
Where this work lies in the sequence of output of the
Meneely (Watervliet) bellfoundry.
Ranking among all North American chimes by size (number of bells).
Index to all tower bell instruments in MA.
*Status:
This page was built from the database on 15-Apr-08 based on textual data last updated on 2008/04/09 and on technical data last updated on 2004/01/05
Explanations of page format and keyboard range are available.
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