DSCN0246 Bell Tower
The Dumaguete Bell tower is an old landmark of the city .
It stands closer to the church of St. Catherine of Alexandria Cathedral which had many claims to have been constructed in 1811.
During its early days ,other than the normal bell ringing this tower also served as a look-out for possible pirate attacks from Mindanao the locals always dreaded .Infact some accounts also stated the pirates do kidnapped pretty young women they can come across .
There were other claims this was built between 1774 and 1776, but full construction into the proper shape of the tower didn't start until later .
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Here's an account gathered about the Bellfry with courtesy to Rene V Javellana :
"A four-storey ovoid tower supported by three buttresses. Made of coral, lime with brick facings it has arched and diamond-shaped windows. Repaired with cement and Mactan stones, a fourth storey clearly shows signs of repair. It is located beside, though separated from, the church, which was damaged during the World War II and subsequently lengthened with the addition of two bays and a facade.
The Dumaguete tower shows signs of being constructed and repaired a number of times. Although the date of construction is generally claimed to be 1811, based on the assumption that the nearby church and tower were built together as attested by a stone marker at the entrance of the cathedral, other dates are given, namely, 1624 by José E. Marcó (1912) and ca. 1760s (Kasaysayan, 1998). Fray Mariano Bernad OAR, who was assigned to Dumaguete in 1866-67, 1880-91, and 1894-97 writes in Reseña historica de Dumaguete (1895) that the belltower was built upon one of four watchtowers that defended the church. “At the four corners of the fortification were constructed four strong towers of cut stone and lime mortar, well provided with artillery …for the purpose of defense.
Today, nothing much remains of the towers, except the corner where there is a belltower constructed over the tower which stood there” (p. 11). The fortification was the handiwork of Fray José Manuel Fernandez de Septién, who administered Dumaguete from 1754 to 1776. He was also responsible for building a single-naved church to which transepts were added later, a convento well supplied with arms, and the two-meter tall perimeter wall that offered safety to the townspeople.
Fray Septién’s construction of defensive structures were catalyzed by the slaving raids that devastated Dumaguete and the surrounding towns in December 1722, May to June 1754, 1755 and 1756. The Cosas Notables de Dumaguete of 1855 onwards makes no mention of slaving raids, perhaps this is the reason why three of the watchtowers were razed and a portion of the wall by Calle Alfonso XIII was left to ruin.
Fray Septién had constructed the first two levels of the watchtower in the 1760s, but it was during the administration of Fray Juan Felix de la Encarnación (1867-79) that the Dumaguete belltower took its present shape. Fray Encarnación added the third and fourth stories in the 1870s, and built buttresses to support the lower wall. Encarnación’s design allowed access to the first three stories, which were protected by railings. The fourth floor was capped by a dome, originally of galvanized iron but replaced by one of brick. This dome had a lateral egress by which workers could climb out to do repair work. The dome, locally known as bonete, literally a skull cap, was crowned with a weather vane.
The tower was repaired in 1987 during the bishopric of Mgsr. Angel N. Lagdameo. A total of 125,000 pesos was spent to replace the staircase with one of reinforced concrete, strengthen the support of the dome, and replace missing stones with cut coral as in the original. "
DSCN0246 Bell Tower
The Dumaguete Bell tower is an old landmark of the city .
It stands closer to the church of St. Catherine of Alexandria Cathedral which had many claims to have been constructed in 1811.
During its early days ,other than the normal bell ringing this tower also served as a look-out for possible pirate attacks from Mindanao the locals always dreaded .Infact some accounts also stated the pirates do kidnapped pretty young women they can come across .
There were other claims this was built between 1774 and 1776, but full construction into the proper shape of the tower didn't start until later .
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Here's an account gathered about the Bellfry with courtesy to Rene V Javellana :
"A four-storey ovoid tower supported by three buttresses. Made of coral, lime with brick facings it has arched and diamond-shaped windows. Repaired with cement and Mactan stones, a fourth storey clearly shows signs of repair. It is located beside, though separated from, the church, which was damaged during the World War II and subsequently lengthened with the addition of two bays and a facade.
The Dumaguete tower shows signs of being constructed and repaired a number of times. Although the date of construction is generally claimed to be 1811, based on the assumption that the nearby church and tower were built together as attested by a stone marker at the entrance of the cathedral, other dates are given, namely, 1624 by José E. Marcó (1912) and ca. 1760s (Kasaysayan, 1998). Fray Mariano Bernad OAR, who was assigned to Dumaguete in 1866-67, 1880-91, and 1894-97 writes in Reseña historica de Dumaguete (1895) that the belltower was built upon one of four watchtowers that defended the church. “At the four corners of the fortification were constructed four strong towers of cut stone and lime mortar, well provided with artillery …for the purpose of defense.
Today, nothing much remains of the towers, except the corner where there is a belltower constructed over the tower which stood there” (p. 11). The fortification was the handiwork of Fray José Manuel Fernandez de Septién, who administered Dumaguete from 1754 to 1776. He was also responsible for building a single-naved church to which transepts were added later, a convento well supplied with arms, and the two-meter tall perimeter wall that offered safety to the townspeople.
Fray Septién’s construction of defensive structures were catalyzed by the slaving raids that devastated Dumaguete and the surrounding towns in December 1722, May to June 1754, 1755 and 1756. The Cosas Notables de Dumaguete of 1855 onwards makes no mention of slaving raids, perhaps this is the reason why three of the watchtowers were razed and a portion of the wall by Calle Alfonso XIII was left to ruin.
Fray Septién had constructed the first two levels of the watchtower in the 1760s, but it was during the administration of Fray Juan Felix de la Encarnación (1867-79) that the Dumaguete belltower took its present shape. Fray Encarnación added the third and fourth stories in the 1870s, and built buttresses to support the lower wall. Encarnación’s design allowed access to the first three stories, which were protected by railings. The fourth floor was capped by a dome, originally of galvanized iron but replaced by one of brick. This dome had a lateral egress by which workers could climb out to do repair work. The dome, locally known as bonete, literally a skull cap, was crowned with a weather vane.
The tower was repaired in 1987 during the bishopric of Mgsr. Angel N. Lagdameo. A total of 125,000 pesos was spent to replace the staircase with one of reinforced concrete, strengthen the support of the dome, and replace missing stones with cut coral as in the original. "