Clock chimes explained: Westminster, Whittington and St. Michael's

A chiming clock plays part of a tune at each quarter hour and the whole tune on the hour, then strikes the hour. The three classic chimes are Westminster (written for Great St Mary's Church, Cambridge, in 1793 and made famous by Big Ben in London), Whittington (linked to the bells of St Mary-le-Bow in London) and St. Michael's (named after the bells of St. Michael's Church in Charleston, South Carolina, first installed in 1764). Most chiming clocks have a lever to pick a tune or silence it, and many can switch off at night.

Key facts

"Chiming" and "striking" are two different things. A striking clock counts the hours with a hammer: three blows at three o'clock. A chiming clock also plays a melody on the quarter hours, using several bells, rods or tubes tuned to different notes. On this page we describe the tunes in words only; there are no sound files here.

How a chiming clock works

Inside a chiming clock there are usually three gear trains, each with its own weight or spring: one for timekeeping, one for the hour strike and one for the chime (see parts of a clock). At each quarter the motion work releases the chime train, which turns a pinned drum. The pins lift hammers that hit the rods, tubes or bells in order. A typical quarter-hour chime plays:

• Quarter past: one phrase of the tune.
• Half past: two phrases.
• Quarter to: three phrases.
• On the hour: four phrases, then the hour is struck on a lower bell or gong.

Most chiming movements have a selector lever on the dial for the tune (often Westminster, Whittington and St. Michael's on "triple-chime" clocks) and a silent position. If the chime falls out of step with the hands, see how to fix a chime that's out of sync.

The Westminster chime (Westminster Quarters)

The Westminster chime is the most famous clock tune in the world, and the default on most chiming mantel and grandfather clocks. Despite its name, it was written in Cambridge. In 1793 a new clock was installed at Great St Mary's, the University Church in Cambridge, and the job of writing its chime was given to Joseph Jowett, Regius Professor of Civil Law, probably with help from the musician John Randall or his pupil William Crotch. That's why the tune is also called the Cambridge Chimes or Cambridge Quarters.

The melody uses four notes, which on Big Ben's quarter bells are G♯, F♯, E and B, arranged into five different four-note phrases ("changes") that are combined to make the quarters. A long-standing tradition says the tune is a variation on a phrase from Handel's Messiah ("I know that my Redeemer liveth"), but this has never been proven. Edmund Beckett Denison, who designed the clock at the Palace of Westminster, chose the Cambridge tune for it, and from there its fame spread around the world. A prayer written to fit the hour chime is displayed in the clock room at Westminster; it is often quoted as "All through this hour, Lord, be my guide; and by Thy power, no foot shall slide".

Big Ben and the Great Clock

"Big Ben" is strictly the name of the Great Bell, not the clock or the tower (now the Elizabeth Tower). According to a UK Parliament fact sheet:

• The Great Clock was installed in 1859 and started on 31 May 1859. Big Ben began striking the hours on 11 July 1859.
• Big Ben weighs 13.7 tonnes and sounds an E natural. The four quarter bells, which play the Westminster chime, weigh between about 1 and 4 tonnes each.
• The first Great Bell, cast in 1856, cracked during testing. Its replacement also cracked a few months after it was installed and stayed silent for four years, until in 1863 it was turned a quarter turn and fitted with a lighter hammer.
• The clock was designed by Edmund Denison and built by Edward Dent, using Denison's double three-legged gravity escapement. Its rate is fine-tuned by adding or removing old pennies on the pendulum: one penny makes the clock gain two-fifths of a second in 24 hours.
• The BBC first broadcast the chimes on New Year's Eve 1923.

Read more about the history of clock towers and mechanical clocks in the invention of the mechanical clock.

The Whittington chime

The Whittington chime is linked to the bells of St Mary-le-Bow in Cheapside, London, the "Bow Bells", and to the legend of Dick Whittington, the poor apprentice who heard the bells calling him to "turn again" and went on to become Lord Mayor of London several times. On domestic clocks it is a lively tune on eight bells, and there are several versions. The tune was earlier known simply as "chimes on eight bells"; the name "Whittington chimes" was only applied to household clocks from the late Victorian period. The bells at St Mary-le-Bow now play an 11-bell version written by Sir Charles Villiers Stanford in 1905.

The St. Michael's chime

The St. Michael's chime takes its name from the bells of St. Michael's Church in Charleston, South Carolina. The bells were cast in London and installed in the steeple in 1764. They have had a remarkable history: taken to England during the Revolutionary War and returned, recast in 1823 after cracking, damaged in the siege of Charleston in 1862, and recast and rehung in 1867. On a triple-chime clock it is a stately eight-note pattern, slower than Whittington.

Other chime tunes

• Canterbury: added by the Herschede Hall Clock Company in 1913 alongside its Whittington and Westminster chimes.
• Trinity: a six-bell tune written by Charles A. Jacques in 1910, named after Trinity Church in New York.
• Ave Maria: several different tunes, based on Schubert's or Gounod's settings, or on hymns sung at Lourdes and Fatima.
• Ode to Joy: the theme from the last movement of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony.
• Melody clocks: many modern quartz clocks play recorded tunes instead of striking rods. One example is Seiko's Melodies in Motion wall clocks, which play one of 18 melodies on the hour while the dial opens and rotates.

Chime comparison

How to silence clock chimes at night

• Manual silent lever: almost every chiming clock has a selector you can set to "silent" or "S/S" (strike/silent). Switch it back in the morning.
• Automatic night shut-off: many grandfather and some mantel clocks have a separate setting that silences the chime overnight, for a set period; the hours depend on the movement, so check the manual. Cuckoo clock maker ISDD notes that most mechanical cuckoo clocks have a manual night shut-off, and some higher-priced models an automatic one.
• Light sensors: many quartz chime and melody clocks go quiet when the room is dark. Seiko describes its Melodies in Motion clocks as having a light sensor that "disengages all melodies and motion when it becomes dark".

Two cautions from Howard Miller's instructions: never change the chime selection while the clock is chiming or about to chime, and move the selector only when the minute hand is well away from a quarter hour.

Sources

• UK Parliament, House of Commons Information Office: Big Ben and the Elizabeth Tower (PDF)
• Wikipedia: Westminster Quarters
• Wikipedia: Whittington chimes
• Antique Clocks Guy: clock chime tunes
• Howard Miller: grandfather clock owner's instructions (PDF)
• ISDD (Schönwald, Black Forest): cuckoo clock FAQ
• Seiko Melodies in Motion wall clock QXM381B (retailer listing with manufacturer specifications)

Last updated November 6, 2026. Found an error? Tell us.

More about clocks

• Grandfather clock chimes
• Desk and mantel clocks
• The mechanical clock
• All clock guides
• Types of clocks
• Grandfather clocks
• Winding a mantel clock
• Parts of a clock
• Clock troubleshooting