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| Hearst
Castle Carillon |
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William Randolph Hearst ordered a 48-bell carillon from Michiels Bell Foundry that was delivered in 1931. The two towers on the Hearst Castle had been modified in 1926-27 to accommodate the carillon, but after the bells had arrived Hearst had second thoughts about installing then. Michiels' son had already arrived in California to supervise the installation, so Hearst agreed to install 36 of the bells, which was finally done in 1932.
The bells are rung by an
interesting electric mechanism and were recently rehabilitated.
References
1985
Hearst Castle : the story of William Randolph Hearst and San Simeon,
by Taylor Coffman
The Story of William Randolph Hearst and San Simeon
Page 52: The towers were modified in 1926-27 to accommodate a
Belgian casillon of bells, which was finally installed in 1932.
1994 Hearst
Castle : an interpretive history of W.R. Hearst's San Simeon estate,
by Nancy E. Loe
Page 27: After considerable delay, a 48-bell carillon for San Simeon
was manufactured. But before the bells had cleared customs, Hearst
had second thoughts abut adding them to the towers. Marcel Michiels'
son and namesake, together with an assistance had already arrived in
California for the exacting process of installation and tuning, so Hearst
allowed them to proceed. One range of twelve bells was never
installed, the remaining thirty-six bells were halved and placed in both
towers, despite the recommendation of the manufacturer. Hearst was never
pleased with the tone, urging Morgan in 1934 to visit Holland on her
European vacation so she could hear a carillon with the effect he wanted
reproduced at San Simeon.
2021 Conservation
Highlight: Carillon Bells Rehabilitation, by Amy Hartm December 11,
2021
The bells were cast in bronze between 1927 and 1929. After many delays in
casting and shipment, the bells finally arrived at San Simeon in October,
1931. The bellfounder’s son, Marcel Michiels Jr., arrived in California
for installation in December, 1931. Weather conditions at the hilltop
estate remained too volatile to begin installing the bells until February,
1932. Iron crowns were hastily constructed by Michiels and his staff to
connect the bronze bells to their structural supports on site, eventually
leading to corrosion caused by interaction of the incompatible iron and
bronze materials.
© 2023 Morris A. Pierce