Cloister Bell Tower, St.Columba's Abbey Church, Iona, Argyll & Bute, Scotland. - Bell Towers on Waymarking.com

There is a single bell in this bell cote above the north-west corner of the cloisters of this Abbey Church of St.Columba. This bell is now used to announce meal times to the staff on the site but a bell would have been used to call the monks to prayer in the days before the Reformation.

The bell is quite an old one as it still has the canons at the crown of the bell included when the bell was cast. This was the method used to attach the bell to the (wooden) headstock using metal straps. The headstock carries the gudgeons which sit in the bearings in a frame attached to the cote enabling the bell to be swung and thus speak. There is some decoration round the bell's crown and also below the crown string. The colour of the bell also leads to it being quite old, it takes some time for this amount of patina to develop, even in the open air.

Modern bells are cast without canons, the bell is attached to the headstock, usually of metal either a casting or prefabricated, with bolts running through the crown and headstock.

This bell is sounded by pulling on a rope which is attached to a crank attached to the headstock. The cote is sound and has had some recent attention in the flashing between the stonework and the roof of the dormitory.

I would judge the weight of the bell to be around 1½ - 2cwt, 75 - 100kg.

Address of Tower: St.Columba's Abbey Church Cloister Iona, Argyll & Bute Scotland PA76 6SQ Still Operational: yes Number of bells in tower?: 1 Rate tower: Tours or visits allowed in tower?: No Relevant website?: Not listed

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