Carillon Magazine
Our Presidents
Brief History of Oglethorpe University
Detailed History of Oglethorpe University
Oglethorpe Historical Timeline
Oglethorpe's 42-Bell Carillon
Honorary Degrees Awarded by Oglethorpe
Alma Mater
Notable Alumni |
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The construction of Lupton Hall in 1919 included a clock tower and
chimes for both aesthetic and practical applications. The four bells
were a gift from Mrs. Fredrick Lesh of Newton Center, MA, who was
the sister of Mrs. Thornwell Jacobs. The largest of the original
four bells (weighing 2,000 lbs.) bears the inscription, "Given by
Grace Josephine Lesh, that the hours at Oglethorpe might be filled
with music and harmony". The chimes helped to guide the daily
schedules of the people of Oglethorpe University and were designed
to strike mechanically Westminster quarter-hour chimes and hour
toll.
Further donations brought the total number of bells to ten as of
November 1929. These ten bells were equipped with electrical
striking and a one octave console was installed allowing the playing
of limited musical scores.
In January of 1972, due to the deterioration of the oak timber
frame supporting the bells, the frame and bells were removed as part
of a renovation plan for Lupton Hall. The ten bells were sent to
Cincinnati, Ohio for sounding. In December of the same year,
twenty-five new bells and a new steel tower were installed. Also,
seven additional bells were ordered to be installed the following
spring to bring the total bell count to forty-two.
The Oglethorpe University 42-bell Carillon is the only cast
bronze bell carillon in Georgia. The carillon is now equipped with a
double-banked console, allowing unlimited musical scores to be
played, as well as an automatic player with chime quarter-hour
Westminster, hour strike and toll, and a coded tape deck that will
play pre-selected music on the bells. In 2005, a new tradition was
started at Oglethorpe: the Carillon Ceremony, where graduating
seniors get the opportunity to ring one of the carillon bells by
hand.
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