The congregation that today constitutes The Cathedral of St. Luke and St. Paul was gathered and organized as a mission in the first decade of the 19th century. Known as the “Third Church” of Charleston Episcopalians, the congregation gathered and worshiped in the old French Church (not the present-day French Huguenot Church on Church Street).

Desiring a building that would offer proper thanksgiving for the Lord’s blessings, the congregation began the efforts needed to yield such a structure. Land was given by Mrs. Lucretia Radcliffe, and construction begun in 1811 under the supervision of architects, James and John Gordon. The building was completed in 1815 and consecrated in 1816 by Bishop Theodore Dehon, the third Bishop of South Carolina. It was the first of the Episcopal churches in the area to be consecrated by an American Bishop, was named St. Paul’s, Radcliffeborough. Only a year later it served as the venue of the 29th Diocesan Convention in 1817.

In its early years, St. Paul’s primarily served the outlying plantation families, and was thus known by the nickname the “Planters’ Church”. Incredibly, a descendant of one of the original “planter families” today serves as Canon Pastor—almost two hundred years later!

The style of architecture is typical of the period, the interior being almost devoid of ornamentation with the exception of the chancel which, according to Dalcho the historian, is “richly painted, and ornamented with Corinthian pilasters having gilt capitals”. In touring the building, one will notice that a similar description applies today, as during the redecorating of the interior after the devastating hurricane of 1989, the colors and applications first used in 1815 were employed as much as current means allowed.

The building was in continuous use during the War Between the States, harboring congregations from those churches nearer the strongholds of the Union forces, whose cannons bombarded the city constantly. The church’s bell was dismantled and sent to Columbia to be melted down in support of the Confederate cause.

For the most part, the interior must appear very much as it did in 1815,  a major exception being that of the stained-glass windows added later.  In addition, the box pews were replaced in 1872 and the pulpit was moved from the middle aisle to its present location.

In 1949, the Parish enfolded the congregation of St. Luke’s on Charlotte Street, long closely associated with St. Paul’s, and the first combined service was held on Sunday, July 17, 1949.  Later, the present building was designated the Cathedral Church for the Diocese of South Carolina and Bishop Gray Temple was officially “seated” here in November, 1963.

The stained-glass windows in the apse of the sanctuary were installed in the fall of 1991 and, consistent with the post-hurricane restoration, are in the style of Sir Christopher Wren, the 17th century architect of St. Paul’s Cathedral, London. They were designed and constructed by Willett Studios of Philadelphia and portray, on the left and right, the patron saints of the Cathedral (St. Luke and St. Paul) with the center window depicting the crucified Christ, together with St. Mary and St. John.

This splendid building is renowned for its acoustical properties and is often sought by performing artists, particularly during the Spoleto Festival. It has experienced many changes and much history, yet remains to this day not only a tribute to the past but, with an active and growing congregation, a household of faith and the “seat” of the Bishop of South Carolina.

Visitors and newcomers are welcome to worship, witness and work with us in upholding the Christian Faith as embodied in Anglican tradition.

Past and Present: History of bells at the Cathedral

The Bells of The Cathedral Church of St. Luke and St. Paul

The bell story starts at St. George’s, Dorchester, in 1735.

As the population of the colony grew, one of the original rural parishes was divided, creating the parish of St. George’s around the thriving town of Dorchester, about 20 miles to the northwest of the city. The parish church was built in 1719, enlarged in 1734, and in 1751 a handsome tower with an octagonal belfry was added (the base of the tower is still standing). In that year a bell was ordered for Dorchester from the Abel Rudhall Bellfoundry in Gloucester. In 1753, a subscription was circulated successfully for a ring of bells, and a ring of four was acquired, so it is surmised that there were a total of 5 bells, with 4 bells hung for change ringing. This is said to be the second ring of bells to have been set up in America, the first being Christ Church in Boston (the old North Church). When the British came through during the Revolutionary War, they severely damaged the church building. Not long thereafter, the population dispersed and all ringing must have ceased.

The single original bell was taken down, used as a school bell, and later fell and was smashed. Of the four change-ringing bells, the tenor and another bell were cracked but the new church of St. Paul’s in Charleston acquired the four bells in 1815; three of the bells were mounted in its tower, the cracked tenor was recast and given to St. John’s Church, Winnsboro, South Carolina, where it was destroyed by Sherman in 1865. At the command of the Council of the State, the church bells of Charleston (with the exception of a bell at St. Michael’s that was used to signal momentous events) were taken down in June of 1862 and shipped to a foundry, most likely John Alexander & Co. in Columbia, to be recast into cannon. The three bells of St. Paul’s went to war, so ending the story of the second ring of change ringing bells to be mounted in America.

St. Paul’s bell tower had been mute since the War Between the States (1862) as the parish was never in a financial position to purchase a set of bells until in 1997, after discussions with Richard Parsons and Dan Beaman, the Dean of the Cathedral, the Rev’d William N. McKeachie, initiated a movement to secure from the Keltek Trust in England the six bells from the redundant parish of St. Paul’s, Mirfield, in Eastthrope, Yorkshire. The Taylor bell foundry in Loughborough, England cast these bells in 1882 for St. Paul’s, Mirfield, which was first founded in 1874. The cornerstone for the existing church in Mirfield was laid in 1881.

Contributions from the members of the cathedral parish in 1997 and 1998 allowed purchase of five bells from the Keltek Trust. A sixth, the tenor bell, was generously donated by the Keltek Trust. Additional gifts have completed a set of eight.

The original ring of six bells now constitute the “back six” of a ring of eight so in the list that follows Bell 3 was the original Bell 1 when they were first hung at St. Paul’s, Mirfield.

Two additional bells were newly cast for the Cathedral at the time of the acquisition of the bells from St. Paul’s, Mirfield and they match the existing six bells for an 8-bell ring. Eijsbouts Foundry in the Netherlands cast these handsome bells in 2001; they were given as a gift to the Cathedral from generous supporters of the parish.

The Bells

Bell 1 – 428 pounds (Treble)

Bell 2 – 456 pounds

Bell 3 – 509 pounds

Bell 4 – 665 pounds

Bell 5 – 792 pounds

Bell 6 – 911 pounds

Bell 7 – 1168 pounds

Bell 8 – 1652 pounds (Tenor)

Reinforcement and renovation of the tower began in March of 2001 in preparation for the upcoming bell installation. The frames arrived and were delivered to the Cathedral at 6:00am on Thursday of Holy Week, April 12, 2001. Police blocked off Coming St. as a crane lifted the 6-ton bell frame over the brick wall into the close. On Sunday, May 13th Ruth and Bob Smith (of Eayre and Smith, bell hangers) arrived from England. On Monday, May 14th they began overseeing the installation of the bell frames, which lasted a week.
In re-pointing the brick in the tower, workmen found moisture damage in the mule boards, so they were replaced. This was an unexpected delay as the damage was not obvious from the outside. The bells themselves arrived in Charleston and were stored until the following week.

On Wednesday, May 23rd from 6:00pm to 8:00pm, the Smiths met with Cathedral parishioners, showing a video and answering questions. This was on the eve of the arrival of the bells to the church itself. The bells were schedule to arrive at 7:00am but arrived early and were unloaded by 7:40am. An early morning crowd of 20-some people and one dog watched a rather amazing performance by the crane. Five bells were placed on the right of the narthex and three to the left, with the crane reaching across the portico and in through the Great West Doors as a police car blocked off Coming Street for over an hour.

Sunday by Sunday excitement built as worshippers entered and left the church though the narthex, with bells to the left of them and bells to the right of them! On Sunday, July 1, the bells, with flowers on their headstocks, pink roses for the two trebles (given in memory of two little girls) and red roses for the back six, were consecrated by the Right Reverend G. Edward Haynesworth. Three local television stations together with CNN, SCETV, and several newspapers, covered the story. July 4th was set as an appropriate date for the hoisting of the bells into the tower, continuing through July 5th. At long last, on November 11th, as part of the Cathedral’s annual Veteran’s Day service, the bells were formally dedicated and “christened” with a peal by a band of the Society of Royal Cumberland Youths from England.

As time passed a problem arose with the function of the bells; in the hot and humid Charleston summers the clappers would seize to their staple pins, rendering the affected bell unusable. The clappers had been re-bushed with a synthetic bushing instead of the traditional Oilite-type and this material did not fare well in Charleston’s summer environment.
Earye and Smith sent a set of machinist’s reamers and spare parts to the contractors who hung the bells but for reasons unknown the needed repairs were never undertaken. Several peal attempts had to be abandoned when a clapper would seize during the method and the bells ceased being rung on a regular schedule. In cooler weather bell practice resumed but the seizing clappers were an ever-present concern. There was even talk of having to bring someone from England to do the repairs. In 2008 the tower captain brought the problem before an interested parishioner who decided to resolve the issue. The unused reamers and parts were fetched from the contractor and he set to work. The clappers from the #5, and #6 bells were removed, as these were the bells that seized most often. The entire clapper assembly was removed with its staple, staple fixing bolt, and staple pin. Upon disassembly it was determined that not only were the bushings too tight but that the staple pins (which hold the clapper in the u-shaped staple) had been driven through the staples and clapper bushings with excessive force. This had caused the pins to mushroom out at their ends making them quite difficult to remove. The pins were pressed out and their ends dressed back down to the proper diameter so they slid into the staple with no effort required.

The (now defacto) steeple keeper doing the repairs contacted Earye and Smith and discussed the allowable tolerances for the pin and bushings. Using the reamers he carefully opened the holes in the bushings by 5 thousands of an inch. The clapper, staple and pin were reassembled and set on the asphalt of a parking lot in the noonday July sun. An infrared thermometer was used to determine that the pins and bushings had reached 129 degrees, almost too hot to handle. At this temperature the clappers swung easily about their pins and the (defacto) steeple keeper decided that this method was more than adequate to ensure the clappers would remain free. The clappers were re-installed and centered in their bells and the clappers from the #3, #4, #7, and #8 were removed and repaired using the same technique and then re-installed. Bells 1 and 2, the Eijsbouts-cast bells, were determined to have been bushed correctly and did not need repairs. All of the bells performed admirably during the Ring Around Charleston of 2008 and the seizing of the clappers is now considered a thing of the past.

Many peals have been rung at the tower since the bells were installed; the first was rung at the dedication of the bells and a splendid half-peal was rung for the ordination of the Rt. Rev. Mark Lawrence as the new Bishop of the Diocese. A peal is a ringing exercise that uses combinations of the order in which the bells can be rung. Although the number of possible combinations of the order in which the 8 bells can be rung is over 40,000, a peal is generally considered top be around 5000 different changes of the order of ringing. Such a noteworthy peal was conducted on Monday, December the 8th, 2008, by a band from the Society of Royal Cumberland Youths. This peal was composed by Rodger Baldwin, involved 5088 changes, and took 2 hrs and 49 minutes to ring. As it was the first time this composition had been rung it was named in honor of the neighborhood and now is known as Radcliffeborough Surprise Major.

Special thanks to:
George Williams, Dan Beaman, Louisa Montgomery, Wray Lemke for contributing to this article.

Thanks to Mr. Eric Ellis, historian of Mirfield, Eastthorpe, for providing information about St. Paul’s, Mirfield, the original home of the bells. A short history of this lovely church can be found at this link: http://www.cofe-mirfield.org.uk/St.PaulHistory.htm