THE BELL TOWER

The Bell Tower – A Perth Icon

Experience the melodious chimes of one of the world’s largest instruments at Perth’s Bell Tower. This Western Australian icon was custom-designed to house the second largest collection of change ringing bells on earth, including twelve historic bells from St Martin-In-The-Fields Church in Trafalgar Square, London. The Bell Tower is located in Barracks Square on the edge of the beautiful Swan River in Perth’s picturesque CBD.

Visit this prominent Perth landmark to gain intriguing insights into the history of the bells and the tower’s construction, learn about the ancient art of bell ringing and even take part in an interactive bell chiming experience. An observation deck offers stunning views of the surrounding landscape, along with an opportunity to hear the world’s first 26 bell carillon play renditions of some well-known tunes and national anthems for the cost of a gold coin. The Bell Tower is open to visitors from Thursday to Sunday, and has been designed to accommodate the needs of a wide variety of visitors, including those with physical disabilities. Companion Cards are readily accepted, enabling carers of guests with disabilities to have free access to provide support.

The Tower

Since its opening in 2000, The Bell Tower has firmly established itself as one of Perth’s most recognisable landmarks. Designed by local architects Hames Sharley, the Tower structure consists of copper sails reflecting the region’s rich mining and nautical heritage, surrounding an approximately 82m towering glass spire that punctuates the Perth skyline and illuminates at night. The open-air observatory deck located on the sixth floor of the tower provides panoramic views over the beautiful Swan River, the Darling Ranges, and the rolling hills of Kings Park.

The bells themselves are housed within the sails of the tower, which are carefully reinforced to support their almost nine tonnes of combined weight. They are hung so they can be swung by the bellringer who pulls on a rope attached to a full wheel. This allows the ringer to have precise control over the chiming of the bell. A series of soundproof louvres and doors are used to muffle or direct the distinctive sound of the bells’ chimes.

The Bells

While the Bell Tower itself is impressive, it’s the rich history of the bells within which usually steal the show. Twelve of these eighteen bells were gifted to the State of Western Australia by St Matin-In-The-Fields church in London in 1988, as part of the Australian bicentennial celebrations. These bells are believed to date back to the 14th century, and are the only known set of royal bells to ever leave England. Their joyous peals have been heard at auspicious celebratory occasions throughout history including England’s victory over the Spanish Armada in 1588, royal coronations, victory in World War II and at the English homecoming of Captain James Cook following his voyage of discovery to Australia in 1771. Six additional bells cast from metals mined in Western Australia round out the set of eighteen.

`The Bell Tower is the first place in the world designed to allow the public to view the folk art of change ringing, and watch the bellringers practise their craft. Change ringing is the musical art of ringing a set of tuned bells in a precise order to create a continuously changing pattern of sound. You can hear their joyful chorus during scheduled bellringing times on Thursdays and Sundays between 12 noon and 1pm.