Princeton University


Grover Cleveland Tower at Princeton University	A Visiting Carillonneur Inspecting the Bells

Links to Carillon Inventories
GCNA	Tower Bells	Bok Tower Gardens

The Princeton Class of 1892 donated a carillon of 35 bells cast by the Gillett and Johnston Bell Foundry in Croydon, England, that was installed in the Grover Cleveland Tower at Princeton's graduate school. Anton Brees played for the dedication on June 17, 18, and 19, 1927.

Fourteen bells were added in 1943, eleven in 1966, and nine in 1968. The carillon was renovated in 1993 and re-dedicated on June 13, 1993 with a recital given by R. Robin Austin.

References
1926 "Fund to Include Various Class Gifts," Princeton Alumni Weekly 26(23):609 (March 24, 1926)
'92 Donates Carillon for Holder Tower
One of the most interesting gifts is tht of a carillon from the Class of 1892, a set of bells, numbering about thirty-eight, to be placed in Holder Tower at a cost of approximately $30,000. When the bells are hung in the tower, Princeton will be unique among American colleges and universities as being the only institution to possess a carillon. The carillon will be the second largest in this country, giving place only to the set of bells given by Mr. Rockefeller to the Park Avenue Baptist Church, New York.

1927 "A Carillon for Chicago," The Nashville Tennessean, February 21, 1927, Page 4.
Members of the American Society In London visited Messrs. Glllett and Johnston's, bell foundry at Croydon a few days ago, and inspected a carillon of forty-three bells which will shortly be installed at St, Chrysostom's Church, Chicago, as a memorial to Richard Tower Crane, a pioneer bell founder of that city.
The visitors also witnessed the casting of one of the bells of a carillon ordered for Princeton University. As the molten metal was being poured into the mould. A. H. Rowan, Princeton graduate of 1890, threw In a silver coin for luck. A carillon recital was given, ot which, it was stated, gramophone records had recently been made.

1927 "Lucky Sixpence Goes Into '92 Carillon,," Princeton Alumni Weekly 27(20):603 (February 25, 1927)
A.H. Rowan '99 Throws Coin of Graduation Year Into Molten Metal as Bells are Cast. (with picture)

1927 "For the Class of 1892 Carillon," Princeton Alumni Weekly 27(32):984 (May 17, 1927) | Bell being lifted into the tower, Page 985 | Picture of bell, Page 1114 |
A committee from '92 inspects the first shipment of bells upon their arrival at the Cleveland Memorial Tower.

1927 "Mercersburg Carillonneur to Play at Princeton," Public Opinion, June 15, 1927, Page 8.

1927 Princeton University carillon presented by the class of 1892, by Anton Brees

1948 Carillon. An Account of the Class of 1892 Bells at Princeton, with Notes on Bells and Carillons in General. [With Plates.], by Arthur Lynds Bigelow | also here |
The original idea had been to install the bells in Sage Tower of Holder Hall, on the northwest corner of the main college campus; and in an early edition of William Gorham Rice's book on the carillon, Singing Towers of the Old World and the New, that tower is pictured as the home of Princeton's bells. The Sage Tower, however, was neither large nor strong enough to accommodate the bells that had been ordered. It was necessary to seek a larger belfry, and the Cleveland Tower of the Graduate College was a logical choice.
Includes details on 58 American and 8 Canadian carillons.

1949 "The Princeton Carillon," by Arthur Lynds Bigelow, Bulletin of the Guild of Carillonneurs of North America 3(2):7-11 (May 1949)
Reprinted from Bigelow's 1948 book.

1966 "The Princeton University Carillon," by Arthur Lynds Bigelow, Bulletin of the Guild of Carillonneurs of North America 17(1):6-8 (May 1966)

2015 "Arthur Bigelow: His Princeton Years - Part I: A New Life, A New Career," by Robin Austin, Bulletin of the Guild of Carillonneurs of North America 64:13-31 (2015)

2016 "Arthur Bigelow: His Princeton Years - Part II: Accomplishments Significant and Many," by Robin Austin, Bulletin of the Guild of Carillonneurs of North America 65:3-30 (2016)

2018 "The Princeton University Carillon: The 1993 Renovation," by Robin Austin, Bulletin of the Guild of Carillonneurs of North America 67:15-27 (2018)