Swan Bells

Swan Bells

Bell Tower, bells, Captain James Cook, England, London, Perth, royal bells, St Martin-in-the-Field, Spanish Armada, Swan Bells, Swan River, Trafalgar Square, The University of Western Australia, Perth, WA, Western Australia

The Bell Tower, on the Swan River in Perth, houses the Swan Bells, including twelve medieval bells formally from the church of St Martin-in-the-Fields in Trafalgar Square, London. The bells are known to have existed in the fourteenth century and were recast in the sixteenth and eighteenth centuries. They were often rung to celebrate important events, including the defeat of the Spanish Armada in 1588, the return of Captain James Cook from his voyage of discovery (which included the east coast of Australia) in 1771, and the coronation of every British Monarch since George II in 1727. The bells are the only set of royal bells known to have left England. They were presented to the State of Western Australia in 1988 as a gift to mark the Australian bicentenary, and The Bell Tower was built to house them and six additional bells. The Bell Tower opened in 2000 and is a rare example of a modern Australian building housing medieval artefacts that are still in use.

McLeod, Shane
www.swanbells.com.au

15 July 2011

Swan Bells

Hyperlink

English