The Revere Bell was presented to the Church of St Andrew in 1843 by Maria Revere Balestier, wife of Joseph Balestier, the first American Consul to Singapore. The bell is now part of the Singapore History Gallery of the National Museum of Singapore.
History
In 1843, the Revere Bell was presented to the Church of St Andrew by Maria Revere Balestier, daughter of anti-British American patriot Paul Revere and the wife of Joseph Balestier, the first American Consul to Singapore. It was given to the church on the condition that, immediately after the 8:00 pm gun had been fired every night to announce the start of curfew hours, the bell would be rung for five minutes. Early Singapore was unsafe after dark, and warnings were sounded during the curfew to remind sailors to return to their ships, and for residents to be vigilant.
Maria Revere Balestier died on 22 August 1847. The sounding of the bell at 8:00 pm every evening continued until the Church of St Andrew was demolished in 1855, and was resumed even before the completion of the new church building that replaced it, now known as St Andrew's Cathedral, and the first service held in October 1861. The regular 8:00 pm alert was discontinued in 1874.
The Revere Bell was used in the church until 6 February 1889, when it was replaced by a new peal of bells presented by the family of Captain J. S. H. Fraser. The Revere Bell was then placed in storage in a Public Works Department facility at Kandang Kerbau. In 1911, the bell was loaned to St George’s Garrison Church located at the Tanglin Barracks. It was later moved to the Royal Engineers storeyard when the bell cracked beyond repair.
In September 1937, the damaged bell came to the attention of the authorities at the Raffles Museum, later known as the National Museum. Archdeacon Graham White donated the bell to the museum, where it was cleaned and burnished and placed near the entrance for a number of years.
In January 1997, the National Museum loaned the bell to the United States Embassy. The bell sat in the embassy lobby for some years until the museum completed major restoration and renovation works in 2006. The embassy returned the bell to the museum in a commemoration ceremony in May 2006. The bell is now part of the permanent exhibition of the Singapore History Gallery at the National Museum of Singapore.
One of an estimated 134 bells still in existence that were cast by the Revere foundry and that bear the Revere name, the Revere Bell in Singapore is the only one located outside the United States. The bell is regarded as an indication of the presence of Americans in early Singapore, as well as a symbol of the close ties between the United States and Singapore. In the past, the bell has been viewed by visiting American dignitaries, among these Tip O’Neill, the first US Speaker of the House ever to visit Singapore, in 1983.
Description
The bell, measuring 81cm in height and about 89cm in diameter with a clapper beneath it, was cast in the Revere Foundry of Boston, Massachusetts, USA, by the Revere Copper Company, in the tradition of the Revere Bells cast by Paul Revere. These bells were known for their clear mellow tones. The Revere Bell bears this inscription: “Revere, Boston 1843. Presented to St Andrew’s Church, Singapore, by Mrs Maria Revere Balestier of Boston, United States of America”.
Author
Vernon Cornelius-Takahama and Joanna HS Tan
References
Baker, J. (2005). The eagle in the lion city: America, Americans and Singapore. Singapore: Landmark Books.
(Call no.: RSING 303.4825957073 BAK)
Balestier bell finds a home. (1937, October 17). The Straits Times, p. 5. Retrieved on September 17, 2010, from NewspaperSG.
Balestier's plantation was a flop. (1956, March 18). The Straits Times, p. 12. Retrieved on September 17, 2010, from NewspaperSG.
Embassy of the United States in Singapore. (2006, May 18). Revere Bell Ceremony Remarks by Ambassador Patricia L. Herbold. Retrieved on September 17, 2010, from http://singapore.usembassy.gov/sp_051806.html
Hooi, C. (1991). The Revere Bell and the Balestiers (pp. 1, 9). Singapore: National Museum.
(Call no.: RSING 327.0924 HOO)
How a Revere bell came to Singapore. (1983, April 5). The Straits Times, p. 8. Retrieved on September 17, 2010, from NewspaperSG.
Lee, E. (1990). Historic buildings of Singapore (p. 27). Singapore: Preservation of Monuments Board.
(Call no.: RSING 720.95957 LEE)
Liu, G. (1996). In granite and chunam: The national monuments of Singapore (p.173). Singapore: Landmark Books.
(Call no.: RSING 725.94095957 LIU)
Notes of the day – St Andrew’s bell. (1937, April 15). The Straits Times, p. 10. Retrieved on September 17, 2010, from NewspaperSG.
Robertson, J. M. (n.d.). Paul Revere and his bells. Retrieved on September 17, 2010, from the website of the American Bell Association International, Inc at http://www.americanbell.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=19&t=412
The information in this article is valid as at 2010 and correct as far as we are able to ascertain from our sources. It is not intended to be an exhaustive or complete history of the subject. Please contact the Library for further reading materials on the topic.
