Royal Eijsbouts () is a
bell foundry located in
Asten, Netherlands.
Background
The workshop was founded in 1872 by Bonaventura Eijsbouts as a "factory for tower clocks." In 1893 Eijsbouts was joined by his 15-year-old son, Johan, and the workshop expanded to begin supplying striking and swinging bells, which were cast at other foundries, with their clocks.
As interest in carillons increased, Johan Eijsbouts purchased bells from two English foundries,
John Taylor Bellfounders and
Gillett & Johnston
Gillett & Johnston was a clockmaker and bell foundry based in Croydon, England from 1844 until 1957. Between 1844 and 1950, over 14,000 tower clocks were made at the works. The company's most successful and prominent period of activity as a be ...
, and installed them in carillons.
In 1924, Johan's oldest son, Tuur Eijsbouts, joined the company. Tuur was technical-minded and inventive. He took the initiative to learn how to cast bells himself. After years of experimentation, an in-house bell foundry was installed in 1947.
The company is still recognized for their cast bells, which are used in
carillon
A carillon ( , ) is a pitched percussion instrument that is played with a musical keyboard, keyboard and consists of at least 23 bells. The bells are Bellfounding, cast in Bell metal, bronze, hung in fixed suspension, and Musical tuning, tu ...
s and
church bells. In 2006 Eijsbouts cast the largest swinging bell in the world.
Royal Eijsbouts has been involved in extensive research programs in
campanology
Campanology (/kæmpəˈnɒlədʒi/) is both the scientific and artistic study of bells, encompassing their design, tuning, and the methods by which they are rung. It delves into the technology behind bell casting and tuning, as well as the rich ...
(the scientific and musical study of bells) for decades. Those efforts have resulted in computer applications with which all aspects of bell sound and shape can be accurately calculated.
Some applications of this extensive research have resulted in the production of a major tierce bell. This bell shares the identical harmonic structure of a traditional bell, except with an adjusted major third above the fundamental as opposed to a minor third.
Besides bell casting, Royal Eijsbouts also manufactures custom-made tower clocks and astronomical clocks of any size. They also operate an art foundry, using several techniques to cast sculptures and statues.
In 2014 Notre Dame celebrated its 850th anniversary. On this occasion, it was decided to restore the bells of the cathedral to its former glory with a new set of bells. The order was given to the French foundry Cornille-Havard and Royal Eijsbouts in Asten, where the largest bell (Marie) was produced. The casting of Marie took place in Asten on 14 September 2012 in the presence of the bishops of
's-Hertogenbosch
s-Hertogenbosch (), colloquially known as Den Bosch (), is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Netherlands with a population of 160,783. It is the capital of ...
,
Hasselt
Hasselt (, , ) is the capital and largest City status in Belgium, city of the Provinces of Belgium, province of Limburg (Belgium), Limburg in the Flemish Region of Belgium.
As of 1 August 2023, Hasselt had a total population of 80,846. The old ...
and the archbishop of
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
. After inspection, the 6-ton bell was put in a special truck to Paris. Cardinal André Vingt-Trois, archbishop of Paris, dedicated on 2 February 2013, all newly cast bells that were exhibited until 25 February in the cathedral. The day after, the new bells were hung in the belfries. On 23 March, thirty thousand listeners followed the first loud creations the renewed sound of Notre Dame.
Also in 2014 Royal Eijsbouts acquired bell foundry
Petit & Fritsen in
Aarle-Rixtel, their last Dutch competitor. Foundry activities in Aarle-Rixtel were terminated and re-allocated to Asten.
Gallery
File:Notre-Dame de Paris - Les nouvelles cloches - 010.jpg, Marie in Notre Dame de Paris in 2013, made by Eijsbouts
References
External links
*
St. John Cantius website
{{Bells
Bell foundries
Carillon makers
Dutch companies established in 1872
Manufacturing companies established in 1872
Musical instrument manufacturing companies of the Netherlands