A Joyful Noise

The Hingham 'Cast

The Hingham Memorial Bell Tower is the only, freestanding tower of its kind in North America. Built in the early 1900s, it's a tribute to the ancestors of Hingham's first settlers from Hingham, England. There are 10 working bells in its belfry. The smallest bell is more than 500 pounds. The largest weighs about the same as a Honda Civic! Every Saturday, volunteers rise early to ring the bells for our community. They don't play songs in the traditional sense. This isn't chiming where a mallet or clapper hits the inside of the bell, this is a technique called change bell ringing. Ropes dangle down from the massive bells and the volunteers use their whole bodies to pull the bells upside down, through a full circle. The bells can't be turned fast enough to hit two notes in a row so the ringing is an ever-changing pattern of bell after bell after bell being rung. A joyful noise!