The sound of genuine cast bronze bells has been a feature of daily life in our world for the past millennium. Even though imitation bells have been developed and used in the last half century, still many people rightly feel that there is greater value in having the real thing. Genuine cast bronze bells will still be ringing centuries from now, while the imitations of today will be obsolete in 15 years or less. As bell founders, we take this responsibility very seriously: we are casting for the ages!

Single Bells
Single bells are used in churches, as a call to worship, a call to prayer (such as the Angelus), for tolling, and to celebrate joyous occasions such as marriage. In educational institutions and in public buildings, single bells are often used to mark the hours of the day, often in conjunction with a tower clock; and sometimes are used to celebrate holidays, or sporting victories, or to mark times of national significance.

The tone of a larger bell is deeper and more sonorous than a smaller bell, and a larger bell will swing at a slower rate. Bells are specified by their diameter, weight, and musical tone.
St. Simon’s Episcopal Church, Ft. Walton Beach, Florida
Single bells are generally hung stationary for use as a time strike, while single church bells are most often hung in swinging mountings; these will often be furnished with an external tolling hammer, to permit individual strikes. The bell will generally be used as a swinging bell for call to worship and for weddings and other joyous occasions; the tolling hammer will be used for the funeral toll, for traditional bell signals, such as the first part of the Angelus, and for the hour strike if desired.
Both stationary and swinging single bells can be manually rung, by means of ropes; or they may be fitted with electric striking or swinging equipment, for remote and automatic operation. If a bell is to be used in conjunction with a traditional mechanical tower clock, it can be fitted with a gravity striking hammer.
Stationary single bells with electric striker can be equipped with a pulsing device to simulate the tempo of ringing of a swinging bell of the same size; this effect can be used as a call to worship, for instance, where a swinging bell is not practical. However, the sound of an actual swinging bell will always be more lively and interesting, because of the Doppler effect of the actual moving bell, which causes a characteristic and pleasing undulation of pitch.
Single bell ready for shipment showing wheel and manual tolling hammer

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