Lexington Belfry

The Old Belfry in Lexington was built in 1762 and originally stood on a small hill adjacent to the village green, on land owned by one Lieutenant Jonas Munroe. In 1768 it was moved, apparently because Munroe was demanding increased payments for the Belfry being on his land, to a new position on the green itself. Between the hours of 1 and 2am on 19 April 1775 the bell was rung to summon the 75-odd men of the local militia, after Paul Revere and Willam Dawes had alerted the village that the regulars were on their way from Boston. In 1891 the Belfry was moved back to its original position on the hill. It was destroyed in 1909 (either in a gale or by fire) and an exact replica built a year later.

Wargaming chum and talented chap Richard Watts (aka "Eccles") made a couple of scale models of the Belfry and very kindly presented one to me. It's made of balsa wood and contains a bell hand-made from gree stuff. Eccles and I scoured the net (or, in my case, wedding cake decorations) to find a suitable bell, but in the end Eccles made them himself. I think the end result is outstanding. There are lovely touches of detail (not least the ropes on the bell) and the basing is very effective too, with a few leaves scattered around. From recollection, the size looks pretty much spot on. So I'm terribly pleased with this little gem and it will feature in the Long Island game. The "real life" photos were taken on my trip to Boston in March and include two of Battle Green.