tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3287675141745937676.post551055082120739149..comments2024-03-20T23:43:28.613+00:00Comments on Caroline's Miscellany: Servants' bellsCarolineLDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00197813252586559665noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3287675141745937676.post-11555837236958183412013-10-16T12:07:03.545+01:002013-10-16T12:07:03.545+01:00Hi Caroline,
I really like your picture of servan...Hi Caroline,<br /><br />I really like your picture of servants' bells, and I was wondering if it would be possible to use the picture on my website? I am creating a site for my mother-in-law who is opening up her house for weddings. I thought the image would be fun to have in the "contact us" section. Her home used to have servants bells - there are still one or 2 dotted about, but there is no longer a board full of them, like in your picture.<br /><br />I would love to use the image on our site (which is not yet up otherwise I'd give you the url!), but I understand if you would rather not. My email is info@purtonhouseweddings.co.uk. <br /><br />I really hope to hear from you.<br /><br />Kind regards, Catherine BarkerAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3287675141745937676.post-89504427792734914422013-01-12T10:55:57.747+00:002013-01-12T10:55:57.747+00:00Thank you - and what great detective work! It'...Thank you - and what great detective work! It's a lovely topic for a thesis. CarolineLDhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00197813252586559665noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3287675141745937676.post-51816135915206625312013-01-11T21:41:56.517+00:002013-01-11T21:41:56.517+00:00Great post...
I'm writing a thesis about mecha...Great post...<br />I'm writing a thesis about mechanical house bell systems and I've had a bit of trouble nailing down the date of their invention as well.<br /> <br />However, I found an earlier reference to house bells in Tessa Murdoch's Noble Households: Eighteenth-Century Inventories of Great English Houses. She found spring-mounted house bell equipment in the 1727 probate inventory at Kiveton House in Yorkshire. <br /><br />Since bell systems rely on springs for their operation, my best guess dates their invention to the late 1600's, after physicists discovered the mechanical principle behind the spring and began using springs in clocks. The clock balance spring looks quite similar to a house bell spring. Wendyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08795630209270449821noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3287675141745937676.post-57220770085090709862011-11-11T15:32:36.349+00:002011-11-11T15:32:36.349+00:00Interesting post, especially the bit about the bel...Interesting post, especially the bit about the bells' introduction in 1744. They seem to have caught on quickly, judging by Horace Walpole's description of the London earthquake of 1750:<br /><br />"I felt my bolster lift up my head; I thought somebody was getting from under my bed, but soon found it was a strong earthquake, that lasted near half a minute, with a violent vibration and great roaring. I rang my bell; my servant came in, frightened out of his senses: in an instant we heard all the windows in the neighbourhood flung up. I got up and found people running into the streets, but saw no mischief done: there had been some; two old houses flung down, several chimneys, and much chinaware. The bells rung in several houses."<br /><br />IanLondon Sound Surveyhttp://www.soundsurvey.org.uknoreply@blogger.com