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The Westminster Quarters, from its use at the Palace of Westminster, is a melody used by a set of four quarter bells to mark each quarter-hour. It is also known as the Westminster Chimes, Cambridge Quarters, or Cambridge Chimes, from its place of origin, the Church of St Mary the Great, Cambridge. [1] : 7–8
The Westminster Quarters are sounded by four quarter bells hung next to Big Ben in the Elizabeth Tower belfry in the Palace of Westminster. These are: [2]
| Quarter bell | Pitch | Weight | Diameter |
| First | G♯4 | 1.1t | 1.1m |
| Second | F♯4 | 1.3t | 1.2m |
| Third | E4 | 1.7t | 1.4m |
| Fourth | B3 | 4.0t | 1.8m |
The quarters consist of five changes, combinations of the four pitches provided by these quarter bells (G♯ 4, F♯ 4, E 4, B 3) in the key E major. This generates five unique changes as follows: [3] : 95 [4]
Each of the five changes is played as three crotchets (quarter note) and a minim (half note) and are always played in the sequence 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. This sequence of five changes is used twice every hour as follows:
The number of changes used matches the number of quarter hours passed.
Because the five changes are used twice, and in the same sequence, the mechanism that trips the hammers needs to be programmed with only five changes instead of ten, reducing its complexity.
Both the third quarter and the full hour require the fourth quarter bell, B3, to be rung twice in quick succession (changes 4,5,1 and 2,3,4,5); too quick for the hammer to draw back for the second strike. To address this, the fourth quarter bell is equipped with two hammers on opposite sides and becomes, effectively, a fifth bell for the mechanism to play.
The first and third quarters finish on the dominant, B, while the half and full hours finish on the tonic, E, producing the satisfying musical effect that has contributed to the popularity of the chimes.
The following sounds have been recreated as electronic, MIDI files and do not necessarily represent the actual sounds of the bells and that the pitch of the Big Ben clip is closer to F than E in modern concert pitch. An actual recording may be heard in the summary section above.
| First quarter: |  |
| Half-hour: |  |
| Third quarter: |  |
| Full hour (3 o'clock example): |  |
The prayer inscribed on a plaque in the Big Ben clock room reads: [5] [6]
All through this hour
Lord be my guide
That by Thy power
No foot shall slide.
The conventional prayer is:
O Lord our God
Be Thou our guide
That by Thy help
No foot may slide.
An alternative prayer changes the third line:
O Lord our God
Be Thou our guide
So by Thy power
No foot shall slide.
A variation on this, to the same tune, is prayed at the end of Brownie meetings in the UK and Canada:
O Lord our God
Thy children call
Grant us Thy peace
And bless us all. Amen.
The Westminster Quarters were originally written in 1793 for a new clock in Great St Mary's, the University Church in Cambridge. There is some doubt over exactly who composed it: Joseph Jowett, Regius Professor of Civil Law, was given the job, but he was probably assisted by either John Randall (1715–1799), who was the Professor of Music from 1755, or his undergraduate pupil, William Crotch (1775–1847). This chime is traditionally, though without substantiation, [7] believed to be a set of variations on the four notes that make up the fifth and sixth bars of "I know that my Redeemer liveth" from Handel's Messiah . [8] [1] : 8–9 This is why the chime is also played by the bells of the so-called Red Tower in Halle, the native town of Handel.
In 1851, the chime was adopted by Edmund Beckett Denison (an amateur horologist, and graduate of Trinity College, Cambridge, who was familiar with the Great St Mary's chime) for the new clock at the Palace of Westminster, where the bell Big Ben hangs. From there its fame spread. It is now one of the most commonly used chimes for striking clocks. [9]
According to the church records of Trinity Episcopal Church (Williamsport, Pennsylvania), this chime sequence was incorporated into a tower clock mechanism by E. Howard & Co., Boston, Massachusetts. The clock and chime in Trinity's steeple base was dedicated in December 1875. It holds the distinction of being the first tower clock in the United States to sound the Cambridge Quarters. [10]
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St Mary the Great is a Church of England parish and university church at the north end of King's Parade in central Cambridge, England. It is known locally as Great St Mary's or simply GSM to distinguish it from "Little St Mary's". It is one of the Greater Churches. It is designated by Historic England as a Grade I listed building.
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