It takes one flight of stairs, a pull down ladder and two fixed steel ladders to reach the 870 lb. bell at the top of the steeple at Phillips Memorial Baptist Church. The bell, which was cast in 1838 by Paul Revere’s student G.H. Holbrook, has not been rung consistently for the past 20 years. The church’s new minister Amy Chilton intends to change that.

Chilton, who has been at the church on Pontiac Avenue for the past two and a half months, has found herself exploring the building’s nooks and crannies in her free time. One aspect that caught her attention early on was the bell.

“I went up in the steeple, found this bell, said ‘why isn’t this bell ringing’ and nobody knew,” said Chilton.

There was no rope attached to the 184-year-old bell to ring it, so the mystery continued. About a week later she asked Ginny Rasmussen how to ring the bell; Rasmussen’s late-husband had served as the church’s assistant, associate and senior pastor for 28 plus years. She told Chilton it was easy and took her to a switch with a key that had been sticking out from the wall for 20 years. With a simple turn, the bell sounded.

The approximately two foot tall bell is two feet and eight inches at the widest point and comes with a rich history. The bell started its journey in 1838 at Providence’s Old Pine Street Baptist Church where it would mostly ring for church services and to announce fires. In 1857, the church caught fire and the bell crashed to the ground and was dragged out by volunteers. The bell (which had been dubbed the Swarts bell after Gardner T. Swarts acquired it at an auction) passed through the hands of the Richmond Fire Station, Eden Park Volunteer Fire Company and the Budlong family. In 1930, the volunteer fire company donated the bell to Phillips Memorial Baptist Church in honor of Robert P. Scott, the only Eden Park boy to die in WWI.

That year through funding from Alonzo Sanborn, the bell was installed in the Phillips Memorial Baptist Church’s original tower for approximately $500. The bell hung in the old church tower but over time couldn’t be used – while the bell remained strong, the tower weakened over time and the bell’s vibrations were causing cracks on the tower’s ceiling. For a six year period, the bell remained silent until it was moved to the sanctuary’s new steeple.

Chilton plans to have the bell rung every Sunday at 9:45 a.m., starting Sept. 18 – on Sept. 11, the church will ring the bell at 10:45 a.m. after the Sunday service. She said Deacon Rick Norberg used to ring the bell each Sunday before the service, but after he died roughly 20 years ago, the regular ringing came to a halt. The church plans to reawaken the bell and have some celebratory pieces during the Sept. 11 service – including having its bell choir play. Chilton said member Peter Chatellier has agreed to be the church’s Quasimodo and ring the bell each week. On Sept. 11, parishioner Anne Crocker will ring the sanctuary bell to notify Chatellier to ring the Swarts bell.

Chilton said the bell is in good shape, and that the church just needs some window repairs to the steeple. In addition to the bell, the steeple holds an electronic carillon system and chimes. The carillon system was turned on roughly two weeks ago and now plays music everyday at noon and 6 p.m.

Crocker, whose great-grandfather and his brother built Phillips Memorial Baptist Church, is looking forward to hearing the bell ring again. At 89 years old, she said several weeks ago she parked her car at the market across from the church, sipped on coffee and listened to the chimes. Crocker is the tenth generation great-granddaughter of Roger Williams.

Crocker has held every role at the church except minister and remembers the days in the new sanctuary where they had such a full house that chairs were put down the side and middle aisles until the Fire Department said that wasn’t allowed.

Phillips Memorial Baptist Church spawned from the People’s Church which met at the old Eden Park School and was organized in 1900 and named after Rev. James Phillips who was a medical missionary to India who served as the interim pastor for People’s Church. The parish house was built in 1901 followed by the second edition in 1940 due to increased attendance. Over the years the church has held suppers, May breakfasts, bazaars, picnics, concerts, doll carriage parades, clambakes and more.

The bell ringing launch will take place at 10:45 a.m. on Sept. 11. To learn more about Phillips Memorial Baptist Church, visit phillipschurch.org/.