The Queen's Tower
Imperial College, Knightsbridge, Middlesex

The correct name of the structure housing the bells is The Queen's Tower, Imperial College. The college and the tower both lie in the parish of St Paul's, Knightsbridge, which in turn is in the modern City of Westminster. References to "Kensington" have probably arisen from the use of the name "South Kensington" for the nearby postal sorting office and underground railway station. Imperial College's Archivist has confirmed that the reference to "Queen Anne's Tower" in Dove's Guide is also spurious.

The tower is the only surviving part of the Imperial Institute building designed by Thomas Edward Collcutt FRIBA (1840-1924), begun in 1887 and completed in 1893. Although widely regarded as Collcutt's masterpiece (he received the Gold Medal of the RIBA on the strength of it), the building was never fully completed and no proper function was ever found for it, though it served at various times as the India Office and as the headquarters of the University of London before the completion of Charles Holden's Senate House in Bloomsbury. Its cavernous great hall was used for examinations, and was notorious among students in the 1950's for its leaking "temporary" plywood ceiling and the loose-bowelled sparrows which inhabited it.

The main part of the building was finally demolished in 1963-4 as part of the expansion plans for Imperial College, and the tower was only saved after a public campaign led by Sir John Betjeman. Other notable Victorian buildings in the area such as Fairfax Wade's Royal School of Needlework and Alfred Waterhouse's City and Guilds Institute were not so lucky, though the Gillett clock and clock bells of the latter were retained in the Mechanical Engineering Building which replaced it. At this time the tower was extensively underpinned and stiffened with concrete ring beams, and now sways much less (currently 8mm at ringing chamber level) than before the demolition. Two surviving buildings by Collcutt, the Wigmore Hall and the Palace Theatre give a faint hint of the style and grandeur of the mighty "Institute", as it is still known to ringers.

The bells were originally a gift to Queen Victoria from an Australian millionairess, Elizabeth M Millar of Melbourne, and although the tower now belongs to Imperial College, the bells remain the property of the Monarch. It is not clear whether the Institute was originally planned to have either tower or bells; the foundation stone was laid in 1887 (in a ceremony which included an ode composed by Sir Arthur Sullivan), but Collcutt's drawing of the tower is dated 1888 and makes no reference to a bell installation. By the time the Institute was officially opened on 10th May 1893, Sullivan's ode had expanded to an "Imperial March", the tower was built and the bells installed. At a signal from an electric buzzer, they were inaugurated with a specially composed touch of Stedman Caters rung by a picked band of Cumberland and College Youths.

The first peal was Stedman Caters on 9th August 1902 for the coronation of Edward VII. Peals followed in 1903 and 1904 but the tower soon became a rarity, and only two more were rung while it remained under the jurisdiction of the crown, one in 1924 and one in 1964. The footnote to the 1924 peal hints at the obstacles to ringing peals there and the ingenuity of ringers in overcoming them: "This peal was rung to celebrate the official opening of the British Empire Exhibition at Wembley, by His Majesty George V, and was organised by special permission of the First Commissioner of His Majesty's Works". The 1964 peal was "Rung as a compliment to HRH Prince Charles on his 16th birthday anniversary" and was probably thought to be the last ever attempt on the bells, the building being derelict. Fortunately this was not the case, and Imperial College has proved to be a more amenable custodian than the Ministry of Works, with peal attempts now permitted annually on Christmas Eve. Since 1981, a further 22 peals have been rung (including one false one) and 3 lost.

The bells are collectively known as the "Alexandra Peal" or "Alexandra Ring", as recorded in the inscription on the 8th. They were cast by Taylors in 1892, just prior to full Simpson tuning (Bill Hibbert has an interesting tonal analysis) and are the 7th heaviest ring of 10, with a tenor of 38 cwt 1 qr 15 lb (1,950 Kg) in D-flat. Each bell has 2 string lines above and below the shoulder inscription, 3 strings on the waist and 2 strings on the soundbow. A founder's mark appears on the shoulder of each bell between the end and the start of the inscription. Bells 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 8 and 9 display the Prince of Wales' feathers above the name of the bell. All words are in capitals with line breaks and punctuation as shown below. We have additionally given the values for the weights to kilograms and for the diameters to millimetres.

The bells were rehung in the late seventies following a lost peal for the Queen's Silver Jubilee and now hang on iron headstocks fitted with ball bearings; it is not known whether the bells were fitted with canons before rehanging. The frame is a combination of wood and cast iron, with all the bells hung on one level. They are currently rung 10 times a year, for Royal and College occasions. In 2008, these are:

On weekdays, ringing takes place between 1pm and 2pm and visitors are always welcome. If you intend to visit, check first if the date falls on a weekend, as a quarter peal may be arranged. You should also bear in mind that with 200 steps to the ringing chamber, a 38 cwt tenor and considerable tower movement, strong legs and arms and good bell-handling are indispensible qualifications for ringing here.

James White
Roger Bailey

16th June 1995

More information about change ringing

Details of the Bells

  1. Weight: 6cwt 2qr 16lb (337.47Kg) Diameter: 28 & 1/2" (724mm)
    Note: F
    Cast by: Taylors of Loughborough, 1892
    Inscribed: on the shoulder in 3/4" letters

    ELIZ M. MILLAR GAVE ME THE LOUGHBOROUGH TAYLORS MADE ME

    followed by the founder's mark;
    Inscribed: on the waist in 1 & 5/8" letters

    MAUD

    and above this the Prince of Wales' Feathers (6" high).

  2. Weight: 7cwt 2qr 21lb (390.54Kg) Diameter: 30 & 1/2" (775mm)
    Note: E flat
    Cast by: Taylors of Loughborough, 1892
    Inscribed: on the shoulder in 3/4" letters

    ELIZ M. MILLAR GAVE ME THE LOUGHBOROUGH TAYLORS MADE ME

    followed by the founder's mark;
    Inscribed: on the waist in 1 & 3/4" letters

    VICTORIA

    and above this the Prince of Wales' Feathers (6" high).

  3. Weight: 8cwt 1qr 5lb (421.39Kg) Diameter: 33" (838mm)
    Note: D flat
    Cast by: Taylors of Loughborough, 1892
    Inscribed: on the shoulder in 3/4" letters

    ELIZABETH M. MILLAR GAVE ME THE LOUGHBOROUGH TAYLORS MADE ME

    followed by the founder's mark;
    Inscribed: on the waist in 1 & 3/4" letters

    LOUISE

    and above this the Prince of Wales' Feathers (6" high).

  4. Weight: 9cwt 0qr 19lb (465.84Kg) Diameter: 34" (864mm)
    Note: C
    Cast by: Taylors of Loughborough, 1892
    Inscribed: on the shoulder in 3/4" letters

    ELIZABETH M. MILLAR GAVE ME THE LOUGHBOROUGH TAYLORS MADE ME

    followed by the founder's mark;
    Inscribed: on the waist in 1 & 3/4" letters

    GEORGE

    and above this the Prince of Wales' Feathers (6" high).

  5. Weight: 10cwt 3qr 14lb (552.48Kg) Diameter: 37 & 1/8" (943mm)
    Note: B flat
    Cast by: Taylors of Loughborough, 1892
    Inscribed: on the shoulder in 3/4" letters

    ELIZABETH M. MILLAR GAVE ME THE LOUGHBOROUGH TAYLORS MADE ME

    followed by the founder's mark;
    Inscribed: on the waist in 1 & 5/8" letters

    ALBERT VICTOR

    and above this the Prince of Wales' Feathers.

  6. Weight: 13cwt 1qr 18lb (681.30Kg) Diameter: 40 & 5/8" (1032mm)
    Note: A flat
    Cast by: Taylors of Loughborough, 1892
    Inscribed: on the shoulder in 1" letters

    ELIZABETH M. MILLAR GAVE ME THE LOUGHBOROUGH TAYLORS MADE ME

    followed by the founder's mark;
    Inscribed: on the waist in 2" letters

    ARTHUR

  7. Weight: 16cwt 2qr 19lb (846.86Kg) Diameter: 44 & 1/2" (1130mm)
    Note: G flat
    Cast by: Taylors of Loughborough, 1892
    Inscribed: on the shoulder in 1" letters

    ELIZABETH M. MILLAR GAVE ME THE LOUGHBOROUGH TAYLORS MADE ME

    followed by the founder's mark;
    Inscribed: on the waist in 2" letters

    ALFRED

  8. Weight: 20cwt 2qr 24lb (1052.34Kg) Diameter: 47 & 1/2" (1207mm)
    Note: F
    Cast by: Taylors of Loughborough, 1892
    Inscribed: on the shoulder in 1" letters

    ELIZABETH M. MILLAR GAVE ME THE LOUGHBOROUGH TAYLORS MADE ME

    followed by the founder's mark;
    Inscribed: on the waist, on one side, in 2" letters

    ALEXANDRA

    and above this the Prince of Wales' Feathers (6" high).
    Inscribed: on the waist, on the opposite side, in 1" letters

    THE PEAL OF WHICH THIS BELL FORMS ONE
    WAS BY THE SPECIAL PERMISSION OF
    THE PRINCESS OF WALES
    NAMED AFTER HER ROYAL HIGHNESS

  9. Weight: 27cwt 0qr 0lb (1371.66Kg) Diameter: 52 & 1/2" (1334mm)
    Note: E flat
    Cast by: Taylors of Loughborough, 1892
    Inscribed: on the shoulder in 1 & 1/2" letters

    ELIZABETH M. MILLAR GAVE ME THE LOUGHBOROUGH TAYLORS MADE ME

    followed by the founder's mark;
    Inscribed: on the waist in 2" letters

    ALBERT EDWARD

    and above this the Prince of Wales' Feathers (6" high).

  10. Weight: 38cwt 1qr 15lb (1949.99Kg) Diameter: 59 & 3/8" (1508mm)
    Note: D flat
    Cast by: Taylors of Loughborough, 1892
    Inscribed: on the shoulder in 2" letters

    ELIZ. M. MILLAR GAVE ME THE LOUGHBOROUGH TAYLORS MADE ME

    followed by the founder's mark;
    Inscribed: on the waist in 3" letters

    VICTORIA R.I.
    1837 - 1887