- 04 50 52 44 98
- fondeurcampaniste@paccard.fr
Bell services
200+ years of experience
PACCARD bell makers specialize in engineering bell towers (civil or religious) and installing equipment used to ring bells (clapper, yoke, belfry, etc.). The term “bell maker” is as contemporary as it is ancient and encompasses a wide variety of trades:
- Carpenter for the installation of belfries and wooden structures,
- Clockmaker for the mechanism,
- Mechanic for the installation of clappers and yokes,
- Electrical engineer for the motors and electric operations,
- Electrician for all the electric installations,
- Electronics engineer especially for programmed automatic control systems,
- Restorer of old mechanisms.
There are so many different specialties that it was necessary to coin a specific name to cover them all. Mr. Laumaillé, a bell maker with a lot of tenacity, managed to get the term into the dictionary around 2005.
There are also different kinds of yokes, which vary depending on local traditions, the volume, the size of the bells, and the resistance of the belfry. The bell maker has to choose a wooden yoke in a thrown mode, a metal yoke in a retro system, or a balanced retro wooden yoke to fit the specific circumstance.
The belfry is the structure — made of wood or metal — that supports the weight of the bells and allows them to be rung on the fly (moving bells) or tinkled (stationary bells). It allows the bells to be isolated from the walls of the bell tower, protecting them from the — sometimes very violent — forces created by the moving bell(s).
The belfry is usually inside the bell tower, but not always. In the North of France, considered the cradle of carillons, belfries are found in civil towers which, by extension are also called belfries. The most famous bell tower may be Bergues, which houses a PACCARD carillon of 48 bells.
The importance of the belfry in the preservation of the bell-making heritage
The forces exerted by moving bells in a poorly insulated belfry will eventually cause irreversible damage to the bell tower, threatening centuries of history.
This is why it is essential to hire an experienced bell maker — a technician specializing in the installation and maintenance of the bell and its equipment — for all bell tower work.
PACCARD has been designing, installing, and maintaining belfries and bell towers worldwide for eight generations, with respect for each regional specificity. PACCARD operates throughout the Rhône Alpes for all bell services.
With the bell assembled and installed in the bell tower, it is time to ring it.
Ringing: This is the simplest way to make a bell ring. The bell is fixed and remains unmoving; the bell ringer hits it with a metallic hammer on the outside of the bell. The bell ringer can also pull the clapper by a rope attached to its extremity.
Peal: The regular swinging of the bell suspended from its yoke in accordance with local traditions. This movement is always horizontal.
In Northern Italy and England, the bells are raised towards the sky and fall one after the other in a succession of arpeggios or fragments of a scale from high to low: this is known as Change Ringing.
In Spain, the local specialty is the Swinging Peal — a ringing mode in which the bell makes a complete turn.
Today, the ringing of a bell is electrically controlled.
The term “watchmaking” encompasses two distinct aspects: monumental watchmaking and the control and programming of bells.
Monumental watchmaking involves the creation of dials, which vary widely depending on local customs and traditions—examples include hand dials, skeleton dials, and Roman numerals. Additionally, it includes timers and receivers for needle drives. The installation and maintenance of this equipment are essential responsibilities of a bell maker.
Today, most bells are controlled by electronic clocks. The HARMONY clock by the PACCARD bell maker, enables the programming of all civil and religious chimes, including the ability to ring bells according to the liturgical year and the seasons. This clock features automatic resets, adjustments for daylight saving time, and programming for various melodies, among other functionalities.
