Major (English) Hand Bell Manufacturers ⁽¹⁾

Notes:

• The means by which different fundamental pitches are acheived between bells of the same casting size is discussed on webpage Notes on Hand Bell Characteristics. Those manufacturing processes cause what othewise seem unexpected, or unintuitive values for the weight and diameter shown in the tables below for different bell pitches.
  
  These include both casting and manufacturing techniques which contribute to what seem unexpected values in the metrics of weight and diameter by pitch.


• The metric of bell height is not available for all manufacturers' bells. Thus for consistency, and to minimize the number of columns in this table, the metric of height of the bells is omitted. Height as part of different designs, and the scaling used for very low note bass handbells, may contribute to unexpected bell weights shown in the table.
• For a more indepth overview of those contributing factors, see the discussion presented in Notes on Handbell Characteristics in the dropdown local menu above.


• Whitechapel foundry was notable for being the original manufacturer of:
  • Big Ben, which hangs in the clock tower of Westminster Palace in London; and
  • The large bell known as the Liberty Bell. It is a famous symbol of American independence located in Philidelphia.


• Whitechapel cast their last bell in 2017. However, control and rights to the patterns for the Whitechapel handbells were transitioned to Whites of Appleton Church Bellhangers, and are still available through Bells of Whitechapel.⁽²⁾ As of 2021, plans for reestablishing a limited Whitechapel Foundary in London for handbells are under way.⁽³⁾

Hand Chimes

In the U.S., both Malmark and Schulmerich also make handchimes. Whitechapel does not make handchimes. In Japan, Suzuki Musical Instruments makes Hand Chimes.

Footnotes

⁽¹⁾ Note. There are (and were) other handbell manufacturers, including:

• Petit & Fritsen, Netherlands, http://www.petit-fritsen.nl/en/index.php;
• Shaw (1848 and 1902), England; and
• Taylor, England, http://taylorbells.co.uk/what-we-do/taylor-bells/handbells-small-bells/ (Since John Taylor was reestablised, they resumed making handbells.)

⁽²⁾ Whitechapel Bell Foundry,https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whitechapel_Bell_Foundry

Gareth Harris, "Bell foundry that cast Big Ben can be turned into boutique hotel, UK government says," The Art Newspaper, May 14, 2021 https://www.theartnewspaper.com/2021/05/14/bell-foundry-that-cast-big-ben-can-be-turned-into-boutique-hotel-uk-government-says

⁽³⁾ Save The Whitechapel Bell Foundry, http://www.savethewhitechapelbellfoundry.com/

⁽⁴⁾ Malmark, Aluminum Handbell with Case https://www.malmark.com/product/aluminum-handbell-with-case/

⁽⁵⁾ Malmark does not include the weight of their aluminum handbells on their website.

⁽⁶⁾ Source: Malmark product pages for bronze bells

⁽⁷⁾ Schulmerich does not publish specifications for their handbells on their website. Thus, the information about their bells came from Major American Handbells: Sizes and Weights for Diatonic Pitches

⁽⁸⁾ Rounded to nearest ounce

⁽⁹⁾ Whitechapel only publishes the bell specifications for their non- sharp (#) bells at Specifications for Whitechapel Handbells. Presumably, the specifications for bells flanking the missing data for sharp pitches are going to approximate the specifications for the sharp pitch bells inbetween. [http://www.whitechapelbellfoundry.co.uk/hbsize.htm]

-  This bell pitch is not made by this manufacturer, as of when this table was put together. (May 2020)

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