Great Tom is the bell that hangs in Tom Tower (designed by Christopher Wren) in Christ Church, University of Oxford, England. It is the loudest bell in Oxford, and measures seven feet one inch in diameter and five feet nine inches in height, and weighs six and a quarter tons.
Originally called "Mary", Great Tom used to hang in Osney Abbey, until in 1545 it was moved to St Frideswide's church, after which at some point it was renamed "Tom". It had...
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Great Tom is the bell that hangs in Tom Tower (designed by Christopher Wren) in Christ Church, University of Oxford, England. It is the loudest bell in Oxford, and measures seven feet one inch in diameter and five feet nine inches in height, and weighs six and a quarter tons.
Originally called "Mary", Great Tom used to hang in Osney Abbey, until in 1545 it was moved to St Frideswide's church, after which at some point it was renamed "Tom". It had caused problems since its first casting, wearing out its clapper, and was recast in 1612, 1626, and 1654, but without solving the problem. In 1678–1679, Richard Keene of Woodstock tried three times to recast it, in the process increasing its weight from two to over six tons, but it wasn't until a final recasting in 1680 – by Christopher Hodson, a bell-founder from London – that success was achieved, and the resulting bell, Great Tom, was hung in the newly completed Tom Tower. It was rehung in May 1953.
There is an inscription on the bell in...
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