PERTH : SCOTLAND-PR

*Location:

   St.John's Kirk
   (St.John the Baptist Church)
   St.John Street
   Perth, Central (Perthshire), Scotland
   OS Ref. NO 119 235
   LL: N 56.3954, W 3.4278

Site locator map via
or or [StreetMapUK/titled] or [StreetMapUK/plain]
City locator maps and gazetteer page (County is wrong; other data are correct.)
Also see our own Map Use Hints.

*Player:

   Ian Cassells
   - and/or -
   John R. Knox
   34 Friar Street
   Perth, Tayside  PH2 0ED
   T: Perth (01738)20400

*Contact:

   Rev. David D. Ogston
   Kirk House
   31 St.John Street
   Perth, Tayside  PH1 5SH
   T: Perth (01738)638482
   - or at -
   Manse of St.John's Kirk
   15 Comely Bank
   Perth, Tayside  PH2 7HU
   T: (01738)621755
   - or -
   Mr. Alexander Gray, Beadle
   22 St.John Street
   T: 738/23358

*Schedule:

   (none)

*Remarks:

   Clock has barrels for both Guildford
   and Cambridge quarters.  Independent
   clappers for electro-pneumatic auto-
   matic player, inoperable (1991).
   Bourdon by Peter Waghevens of
   Mechelen, 1506, swings full circle.
   Maker of previous instrument unknown.
   Maintenance by city.
   Also 5 bells by Waghevens, 1526, among
   15 on display rack in north porch,
   and 13 disused chiming bells in north
   gable of spire.

*Technical data:

   Traditional carillon of 35 bells
   Pitch of heaviest bell is D  in the middle octave
   Transposition is up  2 semitone(s)
   Keyboard range:     C C   /    C C 11
   There are two missing bass semitones
   There is no practice console
   34 bells were recast or replaced in 1935
     by Gillett & Johnston
   Prior history:
     Previously, the instrument was begun with 35 bells
       by an unknown maker
   Year of latest technical information source is 1992

Additional information on the technical history of this instrument can be found in a database printout.

*Links:

The church Website has a photo of the building, as well as an extensive page about all its bells.

The Presbytery Website has a page for this church, with a clickable photo of the building.

British Carillon Society page, with 4 photos

A travel page about the church includes a good photo of the building, showing the tower and its stair turret.  Elsewhere on the page is another photo of the building, a photo of some carillon bells, and a photo of the keyboard room (unfortunately none of these have larger versions).

Ranald Clouston's report on the bells, published in the Proc Soc Antiq Scot, 124 (1994), pp 525-541, is a 1.6MB download.  It covers all 63 bells in this building, which is the largest assemblage in the British Isles.

Video recording (2:05) of the carillon

Where the final phase of this work lies in the sequence of output of the Gillett & Johnston bellfoundry, in this region and in the world.

Ranking among all British Isles traditional carillons by pitch (weight).
Ranking among all British Isles traditional carillons by size (number of bells).
Ranking among all British Isles traditional carillons by year of completion.

Index to all traditional carillons in this region.

Index to all tower bell instruments in Scotland.

*Status:

   This page was built from the database on  8-Oct-06
   based on textual data last updated on 2006/10/07
   and on technical data last updated on 1992/03/22

Explanations of page format and keyboard range are available.

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