Library clock gets new carillon

Roger Varley, Local Journalism Initiative

Director of Community Services & Uxbridge Public Library CEO Amanda Ferraro and Library manager Corrinne Morrison cut a celebratory cake as Library board member Dave Phillips looks on, holding two “old” hands from the clock tower. Photo by John Cavers

A crowd gathered on the sidewalk outside the Uxbridge library last Wednesday to listen to O Canada ring out from the clock tower as the library marked the installation of a new carillon.

A carillon is a set of bells which are played using a keyboard or by an automatic mechanism similar to a piano roll. To be considered a carillon, a minimum of 23 bells is needed; otherwise, it is called a chime.

The new carillon, which comes with a selection of new tunes, was put in place of the old one a couple of weeks ago. The original carillon was installed almost 25 years ago and first rang out at midnight on Dec. 31, 1999, to celebrate the new millenium. The carillon was serviced every year until it was no longer serviceable.

The original carillon was put in place by a father-son team: the new carillon was installed by the son and his son.

Earlier this year, the clock had new hands crafted to replace the ones that had been missing for some time. Also, the clock tower was nominated in the “Municipal World's Great Canadian Landmark” contest.