Echoes from the Bell Tower

The Cathedral’s bell tower houses one of Canada’s rare sets of English change-ringing bells, rung in intricate sequences. There are only seven bell towers with change-ringing bells in the whole country. Quebec City is the only city in Canada with two change-ringing towers—ours and the one at the former St. Matthew’s Church, now the succursal Saint-Jean-Baptiste of the Bibliothèque de Québec. 

The Cathedral of the Holy Trinity houses eight bells in its tower, all cast by the historic Whitechapel Bell Foundry, established in 1570 in London. This renowned foundry is also responsible for casting such iconic bells as Big Ben in London, the Liberty Bell in Philadelphia, and the bells of Westminster Abbey.

The heaviest bell, known as the tenor, weighs 721 kg (1,591 lbs), while the lightest, the treble, weighs 297 kg (545 lbs). A full team of eight ringers is required to ring all eight bells in sequence.

In 2006, the Cathedral of the Holy Trinity Foundation undertook a major restoration project. The Whitechapel Bell Foundry removed hundreds of pounds of metal from the bells in order to retune them. Sadly, the foundry closed its doors in 2017, but we were fortunate to have had our bells restored before then. Thanks to their work, they should continue ringing for at least another hundred years.

The Quebec City Guild of Change Ringers is probably the only bilingual (French-English) change-ringing team in the world, and has already had two French-speaking leaders, or tower captains. It includes male and female members, and the ages of the ringers ranges from 9 to 80 years. 

Over the years the City of Quebec has asked the change ringers from the Cathedral to ring the bells on such special occasions as Christmas, New Year’s Day, Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day and on the anniversary of the day of the founding of Quebec City. The two Quebec City towers have also been visited on a number of occasions by special delegations of bell ringers from the United States, England, Scotland, Ireland, Wales and Australia.

A fascinating tradition from 16th-century England, change ringing is still going strong. It's a complex skill, almost a sport as much as an art, that takes years to learn. You can hear the Cathedral bells ringing every Sunday morning from 10:15 to 11:00 and before special celebration. If you're around on a Tuesday evening, look up at the central window right under the bell tower – you might see and hear them practicing.