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Revere bells and bellfoundries.
The famous patriot Paul Revere is also known as the second major bellfounder in America.
(He was preceded by Col. Aaron Hobart of Abingdon, MA, and a handful of other colonial artisans
who made small numbers of tower bells.)
This page provides some information about Revere's work and Revere bells, organized as follows:
Extant bells by Paul Revere and family
This section presents links to Webpages which mention bells cast by Paul Revere,
his sons or his grandsons.
They are listed in approximate chronological order, and grouped according to the changes in
the name and/or the proprietorship of the business.
(There are gaps in the dates because the chronology given here is based
partly on the inscriptions of dated surviving Revere bells.)
Actual inscriptions are shown in boldface type when known.
Paul Revere, Boston, 1792-1798
Paul Revere's original bellfoundry was simply an extension of the iron and brass foundry
which he had set up in Boston in 1787.
- In 1796, Revere sold a bell to the Town of Falmouth, MA.
That is presumed to be the bell which is in the tower of
First Congregational Church of
Falmouth; see the History page, and also the Organ page.
This bell is undated, and carries no maker's name, but its poetic inscription
is the same as is found on other bells which do carry the Revere name.
- (Other bells survive from this period, but are not on the Web.)
Revere & Sons, Boston, 1801
At least two of Paul Revere's 16 children, Paul Jr. and Joseph, entered their father's business.
- (At least 3 bells survive from this period, but none are on the Web.)
Revere & Son, Boston, 1801-11
After a short time, Paul Jr. left his father's employ.
(It is said that he went to work for bellfounder George Holbrook,
but that has not been confirmed.)
Joseph Revere stayed on with his father, as a junior partner in the business.
In this same year, Revere set up the first copper rolling mill in America, in Canton.
In 1804, the foundry was moved from Boston to Canton (though the bells continued to be
labelled "Boston"), and Joseph made a trip to Europe to study bell-casting.
- REVERE & SON BOSTON 1802,
Congregational
Church, Newington, NH.
- REVERE & SON BOSTON 1803,
First Parish Unitarian Universalist Church,
Kennebunk, ME.
Select the link "Revere & Son 1803" on the left side of that page to see a closeup
of this inscription.
Or select "More Pics" at the bottom of the page, and then "Kennebunk U.U. Church" to see:
the first of five pages
of thumbnail photos of this bell and the church in which it hangs, or related matters.
All thumbnails are clickable to view enlarged versions
(and these can be viewed in sequence like a slide show);
some have very brief (almost cryptic) captions while others have no explanation at all
(though improved captions may be forthcoming).
This bell can be swung or tolled, and is also struck by a clock hammer (clock details unknown).
- REVERE & SON BOSTON 1804,
The Paul Revere House,
Boston, MA, has a bell originally bought by East Parish Church
in Bridgewater, Massachusetts, in 1805.
- (Other bells survive from this period, but are not on the Web.)
Paul Revere & Son, Boston, 1811-1818
When Paul Revere retired from business in 1811, the partnership was reorganized under the
same name but with Joseph holding 4/6 interest and Paul's grandsons Paul 3rd and Thomas Eayres Jr
each holding 1/6.
- REVERE & SON BOSTON 1814,
First Parish Church (Unitarian
Universalist), Wayland (originally East Sudbury), MA;
follow the Table of Contents link to the History page.
Also see the Photo Gallery page, which has lots of pictures from when the bell was
taken down for repairs in Nov.2001.
It's obvious that the yoke and wheel are not
original, but date from repairs done some time in the 20th c.
- REVERE & SON BOSTON 1816,
King's Chapel,
Boston, MA.
- REVERE & SON BOSTON 1818,
St.Michael's Church,
Marblehead, MA.
- REVERE & SON BOSTON 1818,
St.Patrick's Church,
Damariscotta Mills (Newcastle), ME; the only Catholic church with a Revere bell.
- (Other bells survive from this period, but are not on the Web.)
Paul Revere & Son, Boston, 1818-1828
On the death of Thomas Eayres Jr in 1818, Paul 3rd sold his share to Joseph, thus leaving the
latter as sole proprietor.
(Paul 3rd later became a partner of bellfounder George Holbrook.)
The name of the firm remain unchanged, even though Paul Sr had also died in 1818.
The last bell entry in the Revere stockbooks was dated 1828, though bells made after 1824
did not carry a date on them.
- REVERE & SON BOSTON 1819,
First Parish Church,
Unitarian, Groton, MA. Another photo.
- REVERE & SON BOSTON 1819,
Christ Church, Savannah, GA;
see the History page.
- REVERE & SON BOSTON 1820,
First Congregational Church
(Town Meetinghouse), Hancock, NH. Continue to the "Next Page" for the history.
- REVERE BOSTON 1822,
All Souls Unitarian Church, Washington, DC.
- REVERE BOSTON 1822,
The Alfred Church (location unknown);
select "More Pics" at the bottom of the page, and then "The Alfred Church".
This bell can be swung, and is also struck by a clock hammer driven by a Seth Thomas tower clock.
- (Other bells survive from this period, but are not on the Web.)
Revere Copper Company, Boston, 1828-
The Canton firm was incorporated as the Revere Copper Company in 1828.
Joseph Revere was president, a position he held for 60 years.
Bells continued to be made occasionally,
all undated except for the last-known which was produced in 1843.
- REVERE BOSTON (1831?),
Town Hall, Unity, MA,
constructed in 1831; this page photographically documents restoration of the building and
reconstruction of the tower, 1991-2001.
- REVERE BOSTON,
Congregational Church
(United Church of Christ), Assonet, MA; connected to a tower clock produced around 1830
by George H. Holbrook of Medway, and acquired by the church from Amherst College in 1882.
- (Other bells survive from this period, but are not on the Web.)
Recast Revere bells
When bells are cracked through misuse, damaged by fire, or broken by other means,
they are often recast using the original metal (usually with additions).
This establishes a historical connection to the original bell, although the
result cannot properly be attributed to the original bellfounder.
The following bells are documented recastings of former Revere bells.
- Warren, RI,
Baptist Church;
"Paul Revere's 13th bell" (1800?), recast by Meneely & Co., West Troy, NY,
and hung in Meneely fittings.
(alternate page)
- North Boston, MA, St.Stephen's Church
has a bell reputed to be by Revere.
However, the style of the bell, yoke and
uprights indicate that it is probably a recasting by Hooper or Blake.
(The wheel is a modern replacement.)
- (Other bells survive from this period, but are not on the Web.)
These links should be distributed among the sections above when details are known.
These Weblinks lead to pages which put Paul Revere's bellfounding in the context of the rest of his life.
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This page was created 2002/08/30 and last revised on 2008/03/17.
Please send comments or questions to
csz_stl@swbell.net
