Tuesday, August 8, 2017

village bell

From this site, the rich vibrant tone of this bell could be heard throughout the village
For over fifty years, beginning in 1890, the village bell announced the out break of fire. When the First Pickering Fire Company of volunteer firemen was formed in 1889, money was collected from the villagers by subscription to ensure fire protection.
A 200lb bell was ordered but was returned for a 500lb bell when concerns were raised that it might not be heard everywhere. Whenever fire was discovered in the village, the first person to reach the fire hall would ring the bell to call volunteers.
The bell also rang four times a day at 7, 12, 1 and 6 by a paid bell ringer to announce the beginning of the work day, lunch time, end of lunch hour and end of work day. On Sundays the bell called villagers to worship at various churches. On V.E. day, the bell rang continuously to announce the end of the war.

for Tuesday's Treasures

12 comments:

  1. ...my how communications have changed over the years. There is something quaint about bells. Thanks for sharing, where are you taking us next?

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    1. I have been hearing the tornado warning siren on the radio a few times over the last few days. Had I not been in the car with the radio on I would have had no idea. (luckily, I was nowhere near the tornado)

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  2. That is a great deal of bell ringing. Villages ere more regimented back in the 19th and early 20th Centuries.

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    1. I remember being in a small town in Kansas and hearing the lunch and end of shift whistles which I found so wonderful and old timey. This was in the 80s.

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  3. The bell in the picture looks small for a 500lb. But what do I know; for the village of Pickering it was probably good enough.
    A huge bell can be seen at the Kremlin, in Moscow.

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    1. I must googled the Kremlin Bell - at 200 tonnes that one is definitely huge!
      The population of Pickering in 1813 was only 180 souls and was still under 900 in 1953. So, it was probably big enough!

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  4. I love that photo...that first one. Maybe because it is B&W, I am not sure, but it just seems like it is timeless.

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    1. and you can barely see the car that got in the way of the picture.

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  5. Maybe one could say the first fire alarm.

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  6. Interesting story. Lovely capture.

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