Madeline Herring, 16, learned that the bell she had heard ringing when she visited St. John's Episcopal Church as a child had become silent. Now she's raising money so that others can experience its sound. (Photo by Sarah Whiting)
You cannot be saved by the bell if the bell itself needs saving.
At St. John’s Episcopal Church, the site of Patrick Henry’s 1775 “liberty or death” speech, the church’s bell has stopped ringing. Madeline Herring, the 16-year-old state president of the Virginia Society of the Children of the American Revolution, aims to raise $10,000 to help restore its sound.
Thirty-nine inches in diameter and about 1,400 pounds, the 169-year-old bell needs renovation. Although silent for the past few months, the bell typically would be rung seven times before reenactments of the Second Virginia Convention, upon which actors portraying figures such as George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and Patrick Henry would enter, says Sarah Whiting, executive director of the St. John’s Church Foundation. (To see a schedule of reenactments,visit historicstjohnschurch.org)
“It just really deepens the experience having that bell ring,” Whiting says. “It’s almost like it’s the way to get you to go back in time.”
Now, a hand bell is rung to start the reenactment, Whiting says.
“It definitely does not make the same impact,” says Amy Swartz, director of programs and preservation.
The 1850 bell was ringing when Herring, from Stafford County, attended a reenactment at the church at 2401 E. Broad St. as a child, but she says the next time she visited, it was no longer ringing.
“It had a huge impact on me as a kid, and I just really want other children to be able to experience that,” Herring says.
Beyond the reenactments, the bell’s sound affected Richmond's Church Hill neighborhood, Whiting explains.
“It’s loud enough that you can hear it blocks away," she says. "It’s a part of the history and the community there, so I think not hearing it, it’s an absence.”
Crafted by Andrew Meneely, the 169-year-old bell is 39 inches in diameter and weighs about 1,400 pounds. (Photo by Sarah Whiting)
Staff ceased ringing the bell after a bell-making business, The Verdin Co., evaluated the structure. Various parts need replacing and servicing in a project that Whiting says will cost $15,000. Herring says once enough money is raised for a down payment, the repair process may begin.
“We look forward to getting it done and having that wonderful bell ring again,” says Stacey Dickerson, Verdin area manager.
Herring launched the restoration project in April after taking on her state president role. She says that as of June 17, the project has raised nearly $2,000 through various fundraising efforts, such as selling pins that she designed. (Details about the fundraising effort can be found here.)
Whiting, who has worked at the foundation for nearly eight years, says this is her first time working with someone of Herring’s age.
“She’s mature, she’s wonderful and she is leading the charge, and we’re just so lucky to have her helping us,” Whiting says.
Herring titled her project “The Roar of the Revolution” as a play on Patrick Henry’s nickname: “The Voice of the American Revolution.” She says she read a book on the founding father, and her interest in Henry helped lead her to the partnership with St. John’s.
"I’ve always really valued a lot of his principles and the things that he did … for the people of the United States,” she says.
Herring, a descendent of American revolutionary fighter Thomas Church Wilbur, says the bell has a “beautiful” sound.
“It has that authentic revolutionary sound to it,” Herring says. “I really like to say that it has the sound of liberty and freedom, especially in the atmosphere of the reenactments.”
Whiting says the bell, crafted by bellmaker Andrew Meneely, is an “important piece of the historic fabric” of the 1741 church. Once repaired, she says St. John's will have a celebration to break the bell’s period of silence. The restoration of the bell, Whiting suggests, may also be a resurrection.
“The impact will be bringing something back to life,” she says.
