A Brief History of Handbells

    Throughout history bells have been used in different cultures and religions as an aid to worship and as a form of communication.  Several thousand years before Christ religious leaders decorated their robes with small bells.   Even Greek warriors wore bells on their helmets and shields to give them courage and to startle their opponents.  By the fourth century bells were cast and tuned to announce prayer time and the death of a townsperson.  Bell towers were erected in the 16th century to house huge bells and people began to do change ringing.  In the 1860’s bells were brought to America by P.T. Barnum when he hired the Swiss bell ringers to travel with his circus. 

     Handbells are cast in a foundry in sand molds. The castings are made of a bronze alloy which is approximately 80% copper and 20% tin.  The molten metal is heated to 2000 degrees before being poured into the molds.  After cooling, the raw castings are removed from the sand molds and are ready for tuning.

     The American Guild of English Handbell Ringers was founded in 1954 to promote ringing.  Handbell ringing continues to be popular and is spreading around the world as a means of uniting people through the art of handbell ringing!