UK Parliamentary
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In the UK, Parliament, like many other Commonwealth countries used
external bells to call Members to the vote in a Division or a Count.
Votes in the House of Commons or the House of Lords are known as a division. The moment a division is called, members have a specified time (which can change over the years) and not a second longer, to make it to the voting lobbies in person. At the end of the specified time the lobby doors are locked and nobody can enter.
As soon as a division is called by the Speaker the bells were originally sounded for 30 seconds,
which means the vote will after the specified waiting time. The bells on
the Parliamentary estate give a sedate ring and not the harsh sound
produced by most bells. The Principle
Door Keeper, operates the bells and used a Transmitter which is located in
a box next to his seat by the entrance to the House of Commons chamber. Bells were
installed in the Palace of Westminster and the surrounding area. MP's, not in the House, therefore have to rush to Parliament which means
the bells are approximately located in a one mile radius around
Parliament.
The bells can be in Pubs, Restaurants, Hotels, Government Departments
etc and even in private homes. The number of bells changes over the
years but in 2014 there were 384 in the Palace of Westminster and 172
outside the Parliamentary estate. In 2014 it was estimated that
there was 11 km of Division bell cabling in the Palace of Westminster.
The first Division bells were trialled in 1853. The GPO treated
this apparatus as Telegraph equipment.
The bells on the Palace of Westminster estate operated at 3.5hz and in
1904 the Bell No. 25A (1 ohm) was introduced.
In 1913 the system was updated and the bells beyond the parliamentary
estate operated at 25hz.
Wiring diagram for the 1913 system - TG212
In 1913, due to failures of the external bells, the GPO were asked to
install updated testing apparatus to the existing Division bell system.
The new equipment, which is documented in wiring diagram TG212, consisted of a
wall board with two galvanometers, a press button, a change over switch and
eighteen two way switches. The two way switches connected the external
bells, with one switch feeding a bell fitted in the Parliamentary Post Office
lobby for testing purposes.
The two way switches allowed the external circuits to be isolated for
testing purposes. The galvanometers showed when a circuit was
faulty. Each of the 18 circuits were tested daily at a set time,
outside of Parliamentary hours. This testing system was powered by
18 Cells Dry Y.
 As no documentation is available on the 1913 system it is assumed that
the new equipment was activated by the existing division bell
transmitter.
A "Transmitter, Division Bell" (originally
called a "Transmitter, Duplex") controlled whole system and on
activation operated the internal bells directly and the external bells
via the switch
board. This transmitter would operate the bells for a period of
time which could be changed by adding or removing weights on the
pendulum. An existing exchange ringer was used to energise the
external bells and this was switched by a "Switches, 6-Bar".
This Transmitter was originally introduced circa 1904 and probably
operated all the bells, directly, be they internal or external until 1913.
The external bells were fed via the GPO external cable network to each
location and would have originally been a Bellset No. 1. A switch would be fitted
either on the Bellset itself or adjacent to the Bellset to
switch the bell on and off. The switch placed a short circuit
across the bell ringer. Over the years the bells were replaced by
modern equivalents. If a Bellset No. 26
was provided it was fixed to a wooden back board (12" x 7") and a Switch,
Tumbler No. 1M (see picture) or Switch No. 11A fitted under the bell. In the
1960's the Bellset No. 26 had the Bakelite cover replaced with a plastic
version (Cover No. 71A). In this case a hole could be drilled in
the case and a Switch, Snap Type CD265 fitted.
External bell wiring diagram - N615.
The bells only used required a single wire connection and rang to earth
via a capacitor. As the bell only required one wire the copper
pair was bunched.
By the 1950's the system the code of ringing was,
for a Count, ringing for a period of 25
seconds; for a Division, four periods of
ringing of 25 seconds each, with intervals of
10 seconds. The most serious
disadvantage of this system lay in the fact
that some 35 seconds had to elapse
before members could recognize whether a Division or
Count had been called. MP's had 6
minutes to reach the Division Lobbies.
There was confusion over the bells, but a
reluctance to change the system. The GPO then offered a revision
of the system in early 1958 which was demonstrated to Parliament.
The use of different frequencies was not acceptable and it was then
agreed that the bells would ring 4 seconds on and 2 seconds off for a
Count and 55 seconds on, 10 seconds off, 55 seconds on for a Division
The bell test facility and supporting batteries were retained, but the
original transmitter was replaced with a lever-switch, a display
installed at the Serjeant-at-Arms position and two new transmitters,
which were located in the telephone apparatus room.
The system went live on the 19th May 1958.
Click
here for a detailed article on the 1958 system (POEEJ Volume 51 Part
3).
At one point there were 190 bells within the House
of Commons and 70 within the House of Lords.
 Around 2008 a new control system was installed by Resilient PLC.
This system operated
by means of a push button (shown to the right) and not the Transmitter
or lever, although it looks like the
original Transmitter is still in situ alongside the more modern button.
The Principle Door Keeper still operates the system and the original bells are still in use
in the Palace of Westminster. Other
parliamentary buildings are connected via this control system and play
the division bell sound through the voice messaging system speakers for
each building.
If external bells were replaced on the 2008 system
then the replacement was a Bell No. 50E.
On the 2008 system the bell cadences are:-
House of Commons House of Lords
The bells outside the Parliamentary estate used the
BT lease line service and as this is being discontinued by BT, the bells are
currently (as of 2021) being phased out and replaced by a mobile network
connected system.
But many of the disconnected external bells have been left in situ and they can still be seen in
certain pubs and hotels around the Westminster area of London.
Length of divisions in the Commons (Information
from the House of Commons
Enquiry Service) The time allowed for divisions was extended in late March 2020 to allow for procedural changes to how business in the House of Commons has been conducted due to the Covid pandemic.
It is expected that the time allowed for divisions will return to being 8 minutes when the House returns in September 2021 after the Summer recess and this would be decided by Mr Speaker.
Documentation
Provision of external bells - Diagram N615 Bell No. 25A - Drawing 90013 Transmitter, Division Bell - Drawings 1378 and 1379 (1906) Wiring of switch board with test facility - Diagram TG212 (1912)
Description of the 1958 system update - POEEJ
Volume 51 Part 3
Additional Information
Newspaper cutting from 1853 Cost of the system in 1982
NOTES (b) Connection charges will be re-assessed as and when the need for new equipment arises. (c) External division bells in other premises in the vicinity are charged at normal tariff rates for bells and circuits. In 1921 the rental for an external bell was 6s. and the wiring was
charged at £1. 5s. 6d. per furlong. Numbers of Bells and locations
Bell locations in Westminster
List of known external bells as of 2019
(may not be accurate) MOD, Main Building,Whitehall, Westminster, London. SW1A 2HB National Liberal Club, 1 Whitehall Place, Westminster, London. SW1A 2HE DEFRA, Noble House, 17 Smith Square, Westminster, London. SW1P 3JR BEIS (was DTI), 3 Whitehall Place, Westminster, London. SW1A 2HP Selborne House ( LCD ), 54-60 Victoria Street, London. SW1E 6QW City Hall, 64 Victoria Street, Westminster, London. SW1E 6QP DEFRA, Noble House, Room 607, 17 Smith Square, Westminster, London. SW1P 3JR Cabinet Office, 70 Whitehall, Westminster, London. SW1A 2AS PCH Division, Bell Starter Circuit. Norman Shaw, South Division Bell Starter Circuit. 7th floor, Selbourne House ( LCD ), 54-60 Victoria Street, London. SW1E 6QW Caxton House, 4th floor, Tothill Street, Westminster London. SW1H 9NA BEIS, Rooms 8E14, 8G25, 8E22 ( DTI ), 3 Whitehall Place, Westminster London SW1A 2HP UCC, outside room77 Kundan & Co, Horseferry Road, Westminster, London. SW1P 2AW Dept of Education, Sanctuary Building, 7th Floor, 20 Great Smith Street, Westminster, London. SW1P 3BT Dept of Education, Sanctuary Building, 7th Floor, 20 Great Smith Street, Westminster, London. SW1P 3BT Treasury, Room 2/13, Great George St, 1 Horse Guards Road, Westminster, London. SW1A 2HQ DEFRA, Noble House, 17 Smith Square, Westminster, London. SW1P 3JR Dept for International Trade, 3-8 Whitehall Place, Westminster, London. SW1A 2HP DEFRA, Noble House, 17 Smith Square, Westminster, London. SW1P 3JR Conrad London St. James (was Inter Continental St ), 22-28 Broadway, Westminster, London. SW1H 0BH DECC, Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy, 1 Victoria Street, Westminster, London. SW1H 0ET Treasury, 1 Horse Guards Road, Westminster, London. SW1A 2HQ Scottish Office, Dover House, 26 Whitehall, Westminster, London. SW1A 2AU Dept of Education, Sanctuary Building, 7th Floor, 20 Great Smith Street, Westminster, London. SW1P 3BT Treasury, 1 Horse Guards Road, Westminster, London. SW1A 2HQ National Liberal Club, 1 Whitehall Place, Westminster, London. SW1A 2HE DEFRA, Dept of Environment / Climate Change, Noble House, 17 Smith Square, Westminster, London. SW1P 3JR MOD, Horse Guards Avenue, Whitehall Westminster, London. SW1A 2HB Foreign & Commonwealth Office, King Charles Street, Westminster, London. SW1A 2AH The Cinnamon Club, 30 Great Smith Street, The Old Westminster, London. SW1P 3BU The Farmers Club (was Morgan Grenfell), 3 Whitehall Court, Westminster, London. SW1A 2EL 12 North Court, Great Peter Street, Westminster, London. SW1P 3LL Dept of Social Security, Caxton House, Tothill Street, Westminster, London. SW1H 9NA Gold Room, Speaker's Residence Foreign & Commonwealth Office, King Charles Street, Westminster, London. SW1A 2AH Dept of Education, Sanctuary Building, 20 Great Smith Street, Westminster, London. SW1P 3BT DSS, Richmond Terrace Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors, 12 Great George Street, Westminster, London. SW1P 3AD Great Minster House, 33 Horseferry Road, London. SW1P 4DR Dept of Education, Sanctuary Build, 7th Floor, 20 Great Smith Street, Westminster, London. SW1P 3BT Welsh Office, Whitehall, Gwydyr House, 26 Whitehall, London. SW1A 2NP Foreign and Commonwealth Office, King Charles Street, Westminster, London. SW1A 2AH DIUS, Kingsgate House, 66 Victoria Street, Westminster, London. SW1E 6SQ BERR, Kingsgate House, 66 Victoria Street, Westminster, London. SW1E 6SQ Home Office, 2 Marsham Street, Westminster, London. SW1P 4DF Lamp Lighting Circuit, to Norman Shaw Lord Advocate Treasury, Room 2/04, 1 Horse Guards Road, Westminster, London. SW1A 2HQ 407 Richmond Terrace Institute of Civil Engineers, 1 Great George Street, Westminster, London. SW1P 3AA DTI, 8th floor, 3 Whitehall Place, Westminster, London. SW1A 2HP Foreign & Commonwealth Office, King Charles Street, Westminster, London. SW1A 2AH Treasury, 1 Horse Guards Road, Westminster, London. SW1A 2HQ Great Minster House, 33 Horseferry Road, London. SW1P 4DR PUSS, 5th Floor, Great Minster House, 33 Horseferry Road, London. SW1P 4DR DTI, 39 Victoria Street, Westminster, London. SW1H 0EU Foreign and Commonwealth, Room K178, King Charles Street, Westminster, London. SW1A 2AH Thames House (MI5), 12 Millbank, Westminster, London. SW1P 4QE BEIS - Climate Change, 1 Victoria Street, Westminster, London. SW1H 0ET Home Office, 2 Marsham Street, Westminster, London. SW1P 4DF Frame Room, Test Bell, Home Office, 2 Marsham St, Westminster, London. SW1P 4DF DEFRA, Nobel House,17 Smith Square, Westminster, London. SW1P 3JR Dept Transport, Great Minster House, 33 Horseferry Road, London. SW1P 4DR Conservative Office, Mathew Parker Street, 4 Matthew Parker St, Westminster, London. SW1H 9HQ Treasury, 1 Horse Guards Rd, Westminster, London. SW1A 2HQ Home Office, 2 Marsham Street, Westminster, London. SW1P 4DF DTI, 3 Whitehall Place, Westminster, London. SW1A 2HP Room E1/199 - Foreign and Commonwealth Office, HOC, King Charles St, Westminster, London. SW1A 2AH Room E1/138 - Foreign and Commonwealth Office, HOC, King Charles St, Westminster, London. SW1A 2AH Room E1/128 - Foreign and Commonwealth Office, HOC, King Charles St, Westminster, London. SW1A 2AH
Marriott County Hall Hotel, London County Hall, Westminster Bridge Rd,
Lambeth, London. SE1 7PB
The Royal Horseguards (was THISTLE HOTEL ), 2 Whitehall Court, Westminster, London. SW1A 2EJ St Ermines Hotel, 2 Caxton St, Westminster, London. SW1H 0QW
St Stephens tavern, Bridge Street - This is a House of Commons bell
The
Blue Boar, Tothill St
St. Germaine Restaurant Shepherds Restaurant, Marsham Court, Marsham Street, Westminster London. SW1P 4LA Lamico Restaurant. Quirinale Restaurant, 1 Great Peter Street, Westminster, London. SW1P 3LL Quillon Restaurant, 41 Buckingham Gate, Westminster, London. SW1E 6AF
The
Marquis of Granby Public House, 41 Romney Street, Westminster, London.
SW1P 3RF - the bell is upside down!
The Albert Pub, 52 Victoria St, Westminster, London. SW1H 0NP
The Westminster Arms, Storey's Gate, Westminster, London. The Red Lion Public House, 48 Parliament St, Westminster, London. SW1A 2NH The Prince Albert, Victoria Street |
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Last revised: July 11, 2023FM | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
