The Armenian church on the Armenian street in George town of Chennai (MadrasI Tamil nadu state is a protected monument, Initially built in 1711-12 by the large Armenian business community (from Armenia), it was to meet their church obligations and spiritual needs. Between 17443 and 1749 it was razed to the ground by the French East India company based in Pondicherry, about 150 km south of Chennai on the coastal area. Recently in the first week of January, 2023, a small Armenian settlers of this place celebrated the Christmas by way of commemorating its 311 existence. This non functional church is periodically taken care of by a group of Armenian settlers of Kolkata(Calcutta), West Bengal.
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| Belfry Armenian church Madras .tripuntold.com |
On a visit to this historical church that came into being during the East India company rule in this part the tourists will be much impressed by the free standing belfry structure and the the six bells that are housed in the in the belfry. The old bells are all of different sizes, varying from 21 to 26 inches, and weigh around 150 kg each.
They are believed to be the largest and heaviest bells of Chennai What is interesting is these bells were cast at different times: One bell, with Armenian inscription dates back to 1754. This bell was recast in 1808 for unknown reasons and also bears Tamil inscription. Another bell's inscription suggests that it dates back to 1778. Inscriptions on two bells suggest that they were donated by an Armenian trader to the church in memory of his 19 year old son Eliazar Shawmier, buried in the Church’s garden.
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| .Armenian church top of belfry, Chennai.expedia.co.in |
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| Armenian people ,belfry, Armenian church horizonweekly.ca/am |
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Armenian church, Chennai. 6 bells en.wikipedia.org/
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inscriptions in church bells..travel.bhushavali.com
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| Armenian church, Madras, Bells.travel.bhushavali.com |
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| /belfry of a church. etc.usf.edu/ |
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| .Belfry of a church cleanpng.com |
Above images: A belfry is often associated with old churches and religious sites. It's a structure where bells are hung, in the early period it might have been freestanding. It became incorporated into the church building as a bell tower or steeple, in the pasta tower attached to a city hall or other civic building.
A belfry normally encloses the bell chamber, in which the bells are housed; its walls are pierced by openings to facilitate the sound to escape when the bell is tolling.Such openings may be left uncovered or filled with louvers to prevent rain and snow from entering and damaging the bells. There may be a separate room below the bell chamber to house the ringers .............
The belfry structure is on a private chapel ground where the present Church stands. With respect to remaining two bells, they date back to 1837 and were cast by the White chapel Bell Foundry, then known as Mears & Stain bank, with inscriptions reading "Thomas Mears, Founder, London". They created the bells for Big Ben in London and the much older Liberty Bells in Philadelphia city, PA - USA.
Below are listed a couple of old Indian churches with a belfry:
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| 19th CE Church of Holy name,Guruwar Peth Pune, MHatlasobscura.com |
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| St.Antony's church, Siolim, North Goa, India |
https://www.thehindu.com/society/chennais-shrinking-armenian-community-celebrates-centuries-old-madras-armenia-bond/article66359843.ece
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armenian_Church,_Chennai
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/3303979.stm
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