The Bells of St. Marks Traditional Cache
bonaccordians: moving away
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St. Marks church has a working set of 8 bells.
THE BELLS OF ST. MARKS
The present St. Mark's church was built on land given by Thomas Sutcliffe Mort. The foundation stone was laid on 4 September 1848 by Bishop Broughton at a grand ceremony in Mort's garden, to which all parties were invited including workmen and families.
"The design which has been planned by Mr Edmund Blacket is very neat and will have a pleasing effect from the surrounding country and harbour" reported the Sydney Morning Herald, 5 September 1848.
The bells, donated by Thomas Ware Smart in 1862, were first heard at the grand wedding of his step-daughter Mary Anne Lydia Oliver who, it was said, was attended by twenty bridesmaids. The tower and the steeple, completed in 1875, were a gift of William Bradley, whose Lindesay property was one of the earliest in Darling Point.
St. Mark's has always been a popular and fashionable church for society weddings, for both Darling Point residents and Sydney's aspiring social set. Social photographer Sam Hood captured many socialite weddings during the 1930s. In more recent times, St Mark's has hosted such famous weddings as Elton John's first marriage and the fictional wedding in the film Muriel's Wedding.
When I was at school, my music teacher, Adrian Keenan was the resident organist here. He also ran the choir and the bellringers . For weddings, I would sing in the choir, ring the bells with 7 others, and play trumpet with organ accompaniment. I got paid 3 times!
Saturday afternoon (weddings) and Sunday mornings are the best time to hear them. Hunting for the cache at these times is recommended. They are always looking for new ringers. Introduce yourself and get involved! It’s something really different to do. Each bell is mounted on a large wooden wheel and, when at rest, sits upright against a wooden stay, holding masses of potential energy. To start the bell ringing, one must pull on the rope only a foot or so and the bell is pulled over the balance point and begins swinging wildly in a full arc. A tonne or more of metal rotating and clanging! Each ringer must control the speed of the arc by how hard they pull or 'check' the arc of rotation. It can be dangerous! When all 8 bells are swinging at different speeds, from time to time, their combined force can literally make the bell tower sway visibly.
The sequences of bells as they ring is all mathematics based on algorithms so has nothing to do with music. It all has to do with watching and following the other ringers. It’s challenging and fun and extremely a-pealing! (bad pun)
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