Whittington chimes, also called ''St. Mary's'', are a family of

clock chime A clock chime is a melody or a set of melodies played at intervals upon a set of bells to mark the passage of time. It is also the name of the installed set of bells, when they are not part of a larger bell instrument such as a carillon. Bells tha ...

melodies associated with

St Mary-le-Bow The Church of St Mary-le-Bow is a Church of England parish church in the City of London. Located on Cheapside, one of the city's oldest and most important thoroughfares, the church was founded in 1080 by Lanfranc, Archbishop of Canterbury. Rebui ...

church in London, which is related to the historical figure of Whittington by legend. Whittington is usually the secondary chime selection for most chiming clocks, the first being the

Westminster Westminster is an area of Central London, part of the wider City of Westminster. The area, which extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street, has many visitor attractions and historic landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Bu ...

. It is also one of two clock chime melodies with multiple variations, the other being the ''Ave Maria'' chimes. Before the name Whittington became common, the melody used to be referred to as “chimes on eight bells”. However, evidence suggests it was originally a chime on six bells – a melody that has not been in use at St Mary-le-Bow since

1666 This is the first year to be designated as an ''Annus mirabilis'', in John Dryden's 1667 poem so titled, celebrating England's failure to be beaten either by the Dutch or by fire. It is the only year to contain each Roman numeral once in de ...

. In 1905, based on what was known about the six-bell version, Sir

Charles Villiers Stanford Sir Charles Villiers Stanford (30 September 1852 – 29 March 1924) was an Anglo-Irish composer, music teacher, and conductor of the late Romantic music, Romantic era. Born to a well-off and highly musical family in Dublin, Stanford was ed ...

composed a new melody (still called Whittington chimes) that uses 11 out of the 12 bells in the tower of St Mary-le-Bow; this 11-bell version is the one now used at that church.

Dick Whittington story

The customary English theatre story, adapted from the life of the real

Richard Whittington Richard Whittington (c. 1354–1423) of the parish of St Michael Paternoster Royal, City of London, was an English merchant and a politician of the late medieval period. He is also the real-life inspiration for the English folk tale ''Dick ...

, is that the young boy

Dick Whittington Richard Whittington (c. 1354–1423) of the parish of St Michael Paternoster Royal, City of London, was an English merchant and a politician of the late medieval period. He is also the real-life inspiration for the English folk tale ''Dick ...

was an unhappy apprentice running away from his master, and heard the tune ringing from the bell tower of the church of

St Mary-le-Bow The Church of St Mary-le-Bow is a Church of England parish church in the City of London, England. Located on Cheapside, one of the city's oldest thoroughfares, the church was founded in 1080, by Lanfranc, Archbishop of Canterbury. Rebuilt severa ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

in 1392. The penniless boy heard the bells seemingly saying to him "Turn again Dick Whittington". Dick returned to London upon hearing the bells, where he went on to find his fortune and became the

Lord Mayor of London The Lord Mayor of London is the mayor of the City of London and the leader of the City of London Corporation. Within the City, the Lord Mayor is accorded precedence over all individuals except the sovereign and retains various traditional powe ...

four times. According to tradition, Whittington used the tune as a campaign song for his three returns to the office of mayor. A short version of the campaign song goes: :''Turn again Dick Whittington,'' :''Right Lord Mayor of London Town.''

Chimes of St Mary-le-Bow

The twelve bells in the tower of St Mary-le-Bow, cast in 1956, all have inscriptions on them; the first letters of each inscription spell out: :''D W H I T T I N G T O N''

Chimes on domestic clocks

The Whittington chimes are less well known than the Westminster (Cambridge) chimes, despite being much older. The chimes are found in many early English

bracket A bracket is either of two tall fore- or back-facing punctuation marks commonly used to isolate a segment of text or data from its surroundings. Typically deployed in symmetric pairs, an individual bracket may be identified as a 'left' or 'r ...

and

longcase clock A grandfather clock (also a longcase clock, tall-case clock, grandfather's clock, or floor clock) is a tall, freestanding, weight-driven pendulum clock with the pendulum held inside the tower or waist of the case. Clocks of this style are common ...

s. The melody was not given the name "Whittington Chimes" on domestic clocks until the late

Victorian period In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the period of Queen Victoria's reign, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. The era followed the Georgian period and preceded the Edwardian ...

onwards. Whittington chimes found on domestic clocks are variations on the eight-bell melody, and there are at least four variations of this chime sequence. Currently the Whittington chime is often available on

grandfather clock A grandfather clock (also a longcase clock, tall-case clock, grandfather's clock, or floor clock) is a tall, freestanding, weight-driven pendulum clock with the pendulum held inside the tower or waist of the case. Clocks of this style are common ...

movements that have selectable chimes and some

quartz clock Quartz clocks and quartz watches are timepieces that use an electronic oscillator regulated by a quartz crystal to keep time. This crystal oscillator creates a signal with very precise frequency, so that quartz clocks and watches are at least an ...

Bawo & Dotter Chimes

One of the Whittington chime variation is also known as the ''Bawo & Dotter'' chimes, and is usually found on many older German movements such as early models of

Junghans Junghans Uhren GmbH is a German watch and clock manufacturer. The company is located in the district of Rottweil, in a town called Schramberg, Baden-Württemberg, southwest Germany. History On 15 April 1861 Erhard Junghans created the compan ...

grandfather clocks. This version of the chimes is remarkably different and unique from the other three variations; only the first-quarter melody remains the same with the other variations.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Whittington Chimes Clocks Anonymous musical compositions Compositions by Charles Villiers Stanford