Trinity’s Centennial Bells. (Shown here are four of the eight bells in the ‘up’ or ‘ready for ringing’ position.)

Trinity's eight change ringing bells were a part of the Centennial Fund drive of 1984. In 1987, the bells were cast by the Whitechapel Bell Foundry  in London (the oldest on-going company in England and the maker of the Liberty Bell.)  The bells were installed the following spring and dedicated on Pentecost, 1988.

There are about 5,500 rings of tower bells hung for change ringing in Great Britain, compared to only about 200 in the rest of the world. In North America, there are 45 active ringing towers, one of which is our very own Trinity Episcopal Cathedral located in Little Rock, Arkansas.

The bells comprise an octave in the key of A and are dedicated as follows:

#1-Treble (338 lbs.) is in memory of Right Reverend Leonidas Polk, the first Bishop of Arkansas (1838-1841)

#2           (359 lbs.) is in memory of Goldie Mashburn

#3           (383 lbs.) is in memory of Richard Delafield Floyd

#4           (412 lbs.) is in honor of Rt. Rev. Herbert A. Donovan, eleventh Bishop of Arkansas (1981-1993)

#5           (500 lbs.) is in honor of Very Rev. Joel W. Pugh, Dean of the Cathedral (1977-1994)

#6           (577 lbs.) is in memory of Very Rev. Charles A. Higgins, Dean of the Cathedral (1957-1977)

#7            (755 lbs.) is in memory of Major Mary Belle Nissly

#8-Tenor (1009 lbs.) is in memory of Major General H. Lynn Wassel

The Bells:

Trinity Cathedral Ringing Society

“Charles” (the number six bell) in the ‘down’ position. This bell is named after past Dean of the Cathedral, Charles Higgins.

About the Bells

Celebrating 20 Years of The Centennial Bells of Trinity Episcopal Cathedral