Our carillon bell tower is probably the most distinctive architectural feature of the church facility. The bell tower is a separate structure standing on the highest point of our grounds, adjacent to and a few yards from our sanctuary. The tower is prominently visible from both State Road and Township Line Road (US Route 1). Because of its prominence, the public often refers to Collenbrook as “the church with the bells.”
The bells were originally
part of the Northminster Presbyterian Church (one of the two congregations
along with St. Paul’s United Church of Christ that united to form Collenbrook
United Church in 1975). Northminster
was originally located at 35th and Baring Streets in
Philadelphia. The bells were at that
location from 1928 until 1957.
Northminster Presbyterian Church relocated to the present location in
Drexel Hill in 1946. In 1958, upon the
completion of the current bell tower, the bells were moved into their new
location.
Our carillon is a traditional
chime of 15 bells. The bells were cast
at Meneely & Company, Watervliet, New York in 1928. The pitch of the heaviest bell is E. The range of the bells are E – C. There are two semitones added. The bells play the Westminster Chimes on the
hour beginning each day at noon and playing for the final time of the day at
8:00 PM. There is an electric keyboard
located in the church choir loft that can be used to manually play the bells.
We like to think of our
bells as more than just one of the distinctive features of our church, we like
to think that the hourly playing of the bells is a reminder to the people
residing in proximity to the church of the presence of God and Christ’s church
in our community.