First Presbyterian Church

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First Presbyterian Church

The First Presbyterian Church in Birmingham Alabama installed a carillon of 25 bells from the John Taylor Bell Foundry in Loughborough, England.  It was donated by James Franklin Rushton in memory of his father, Colonel William James Rushton, and was dedicated on February 17, 1924.  Anton Brees played the carillon on March 30, 1924.

Rushton's son William James Rushton donated a carillon to Samford University in 1968.

In 1961, James Franklin Rushton's children donated an additional 12 bells to the church cast by the van Bergen Bell Foundry, bringing the total to 37 bells.

References
1923 "Chime, Described as Finest in America, Given to Church in Memory of W. J. Rushton," The Birmingham News, March 18, 1923, Page 1.

1924 "Carillon of 25 Bells Formally Dedicated in Exercises at First Presbyterian Church," The Birmingham News, February 18, 1924, Page 14.

1924 "Antwerp Player To Be Heard Here," The Birmingham News, March 25, 1924, Page 6.
Anton Brees to play March 30, 1924.

1924 "Bell Master of Antwerp to Play," The Birmingham News, March 30, 1924, Page 15.
Anton Brees to Give Recital Through New Carillon of First Presbyterian.

1924 "Belgium Carilonneur and English Bell Maker Pay Birmingham Visit," The Birmingham News, April 2, 1924, Page 6.
Anton Brees and Edward Dennison Taylor.
The largest is in New Jersey with 35 bells; the next is in Gloucester, Mass, with 31 bells; Andover Phillips Academy is next with 30 bells and Birmingham next with 25.

1924 "Antwerp Carilonneur to Play Bells of "Old First: Last Time Friday Night," The Birmingham News, April 4, 1924, Page 2.

1927 James Frank Rushton (30 Nov 1875 - 7 Mar 1927) grave

1948 "A Visit to Alabama," by Kamiel Lefevere, Bulletin of the Guild of Carillonneurs in North America 2(2):1-2 (April 1948)

© 2022 Morris A. Pierce