Smith College

College Hall at Smith College

Links to Carillon Inventories
GCNA	Tower Bells	Bok Tower Gardens

The original chime was given to the college by Mr. and Mrs. W. Wilson Carlile in memory of their daughter, Dorothea Carlile (Class of ’22) who died in her freshman year in the influenza epidemic of 1918. Gifts from the Carlile family have funded the chime’s expansion into a carillon and renovations.

The chime was installed in 1919 with 12 bells cast by the Meneely Bell Foundry, Troy, New York. In August 1952, the 12 original bells were re-cast by Les Fils de Georges Paccard Bell Foundry of Annecy-le-Viux in France and 3 more bells were added for a total of 15 bells.

In 1957, the instrument was enlarged, under the supervision of Arthur Bigelow, to 22 bells cast by Paccard. A 23d bell was donated by the Very Rev. Charles U. Harris and his wife and installed on October 15, 1957. He was the president of the Seabury-Western Theological Institute in Evanston, Illinoia, where a carillon had been installed in 1954. His wife was the sister of Dorothea Carlile.

In 1977, the instrument was enlarged to 47 bells by Paccard.

In 2009, another Paccard bell was added.

References
1918 Dorothea Carlile (13Oct 1900 - 10 Oct 1918) grave

1919 "Gift of Chimes to Smith College," The Evening Caledonian, January 11, 1919, Page 1.
President Neilson announces that the college has accepted from Mr. and Mrs. Wilson Carlile of Columbus, O.. a princeIy gift of a chime of 12 bells. These are a duplicate as to range, key and other respects of the famous chime in the campanile, at Springfield, Mass. The gift is a memorial for their daughter, Dorothea Carlile, who was a member of the class of 1922 and who died in this city Oct 9, 1918. The chime will be placed below the;
clock in the Gothic tower of the college halL .

1957 “Bell Will Complete College Hall Carillon.” Sophian, October 15, 1957

1957 "New Bell for Smith," The Springfield Union, November 2, 1957, Page 25.
A new bell, the gift of Very Rev. and Mrs. Charles U. Harris, Evanston, Ill., formerly of Highland Park, has been installed in the tower of College Hall, Smith College, joining the other 22 bells of the Dorothea Carlile Chime.

1958 "It's a Carillon," Smith College Quarterly, February 1958, Page 90

1975 History of the Dorothea Carlile Carillon

2009 Long-Awaited Bell to Complete Smith College Carillon, March 16, 2009

"The Bells of Smith," Smithipedia
Dorothea Carlile Carillon in College Hall
Though physically seen by few, the bells of Smith College’s Dorothea Carlile Carillon in College Hall has the potential to reach the ears of many students, professors, and visitors to the Smith campus. The collection of 48 bells, since the original installation of 12 bells in 1919, has undergone a number of replacements, additions, and renovations over the course of the century, and has graced the college with arrangements of popular songs and music in the earlier days of the collection. The first 12 bells were donated by Mr. and Mrs. W. Wilson Carlile (Florence Jeffrey 1893) in memory of their daughter, Dorothea, a victim of the influenza epidemic of 1918 who had died in her first year at Smith. These 12 bells replaced the original college bell, a gift from Mrs. Seelye at the opening of the college which was relocated to John M. Greene Hall (and now rests in Wilson House). The presence of these bells, the collection of which was christened the Dorothea Carlile Chime, was seen as very symbolic and commemorative. According to the purpose of the chime as stated on the Deed of Trust, “the bells will tell for her the stirring weed of wide inspiration, of close bonds and sure fellowship, of gladsome search for beauty in its every phrase, with confidence in a larger happiness triumphant.” They were also played at the memorial service for John M. Greene and dedication of the chime. As recounts a witness, “The simple but beautiful memorial service at their dedication struck the note of joy in living and of high ideals which the Carlile family wish to perpetrate through their gift. And the quiet picture of the whole college standing about in the sunset shadows or strolling slowly beneath the lofty elms to listen to the first notes of those bells…must have been very gratifying to the donor.”
Designed to perform popular, classical, or traditional songs in three and sometimes four part arrangements, a carillon consists of at least two chromatic octaves and 23 bells, played on a clavier with the clenched hand. The smaller version of this, called a chime, rarely exceeded 15 bells. With little over an octave, the first set of bells installed in the tower of College Hall had a limited range. The original twelve bells of the Dorothea Carlile Chime were cast by an American bell foundry, the Meneely Bell Company of Troy, New York, with bells running from E flat 5 upward to F65). All bells but the largest are held stationary and struck by clappers, operated from a keyboard. In the early days, this keyboard consisted of heavy wooden levers (one for each bell) and corresponding counterweights, making the act of playing the bells extremely difficult, slow-moving, and nearly “impossible” to practice, as each lever had to be operated by hand).
After World War II with the approval of the Carlile family, plans were made to expand and renovate the collection for the first time. Starting in August 1952, the 12 original bells were re-cast by Paccard of Annecy-le-Viux in France, and 3 more bells were added for a total of 15 bells. Major structural changes were also implemented, eliminating the “cumbersome counterweights” and installing a new, light keyboard. Further donations to the collection in 1957 allowed for the collection to reach 23 bells, allowing the Dorothea Carlile Chime to become the Dorothea Carillon. The most recent collection of 47 bells was reached in 1976, where all bells were re-cast and newly shaved to give more precise tuning. Smith College’s copy of the Bicentennial Liberty Bell, one of only 2400 bells made by the Whitechapel Bell Foundry in London, England, was added to this collection. The carillon was finally completed in May 2009 with the addition of the final D sharp that was omitted from the 70’s expansion. The bell bears an inscription chosen by Music Director Peter Bloom, taken from a French poem of Marceline Debordes-Valmore, which in English reads: “When the bells in the evening slow down time in the valley, if you have no friends or lovers close to you, think of me! Think of me!”11). The completed carillon is scheduled to play for the 2009 commencement exercises.