Memorial Church Bell Silent After Winds Cause Damage

To the chagrin of University officials and the glee of many Canaday Hall residents, a 100-pound piece of the Memorial Church bell broke off last Friday, temporarily ending the church's ritual ringing and nearly crashing through its roof.

In a freak accident, the bell's red, cast-iron clapper snapped off and fell roughly 40 feet onto a lower section of the church's steeple, according to officials at Harvard Planning and Real Estate (HPRE).

Until a new clapper is constructed, the bell will not ring at its usual hours-8:45 a.m. and on the hour until 4 p.m. during the week and 11 a.m. on Sundays, said Daniel F. Murphy, the HPRE property manager.

Ted LeBlanc, HPRE assistant director, who is working with Murphy to repair the bell, said he hoped it would be repaired by the end of May.

When Murphy first saw the damaged clapper, it was piercing the edge of the steeple, on a white copper cornice above its brick section.

"We were lucky. Six more inches, and it would have either gone through the roof or ricocheted off the edge," LeBlanc said. "It was shaped like a dart."

According to LeBlanc, the clapper is designed to remain stationary while the rotating two-ton bell strikes the clapper.

The force of the bell broke off the clapper because of metal fatigue, LeBlanc said. He also blamed the high winds on Thursday night and Friday morning.

Murphy does not know exactly when it broke off.

At 8:50 a.m. last Friday, Murphy received a call from the church sexton, who said the bell sounded strange at its 8:45 ringing, Murphy said.

Murphy then sent two workers to ascend the tower.

They called to tell him that they could not find the clapper.

Murphy was the first one to notice the clapper; walking through the Canady courtyard to the church, he saw it impaled on the cornice above the brick section of the steeple.

A roofing company removed the clapper at about 10:30 a.m. that day.

The accident was termed a complete surprise by Ann P. Hall, communications officer for Memorial Church.

"It was completely unexpected and certainly concerning, "she said.

LeBlanc said Harvard might contract the new clapper from the factory in England where it was originally made 13 years ago, but he is currently seeking a faster domestic option.

The only damage to Memorial Church is some minor piercing where the clapper struck the copper cornice-damage still visible from the Canaday courtyard.

"We're trying to get this all figured out as soon as possible," Murphy said.

While one Canaday Hall resident, Jeremy C. Hwang '02, said he was unaware that the bell was broken, Spencer W. Wolff' 02 said he enjoys the now quiet mornings.

Wolff, who is a Crimson editor, was unaware of the specific circumstances of the situation.

"I heard something broke," he added.

"I love [life without the bell]," he added. "This is supposed to be a secular school, and I don't need to be woken up to know when church is."