Revere Bell

The Revere Bell is a captivating artifact presented to Singapore by Mrs. Maria Revere Balestier, daughter of the esteemed Paul Revere and wife of Joseph Balestier, the first American Consul to Singapore. This bell, cast by the Revere Copper Company in Boston, Massachusetts, is notable for being the sole Revere bell located outside the United States. Measuring 81 centimeters in height and 89 centimeters in diameter, it includes a clapper beneath its structure.

In 1843, Maria Revere donated the bell to the first Church of St. Andrew, under the condition that it be rung nightly at 8:00 pm to signal a curfew. This tradition persisted until 1855 when the church was demolished. The curfew bell resumed in 1861 at the second church, but the practice was discontinued in 1874.

By 1889, the Revere Bell had been replaced by a new set of bells donated by Captain J. S. H. Fraser's family. The Revere Bell was then placed in storage until 1911, when it was relocated to St. George's Garrison Church in Tanglin Barracks. Unfortunately, it sustained irreparable damage and was subsequently moved to a Royal Engineers storeyard.

In 1937, the Raffles Museum, now the National Museum of Singapore, took custody of the bell following a donation by the Anglican Archdeacon of Singapore, Graham White. Since then, the bell has been on display at the museum, with a brief loan to the United States Embassy in Singapore from January 1997 to May 2006 during the museum’s renovations. While at the Embassy, the bell was prominently showcased in the foyer.

Today, the Revere Bell is proudly exhibited in the Singapore History Gallery at the National Museum of Singapore. It stands as a cherished emblem of the enduring friendship between Singapore and the United States.