2-889-242 - The Print Collector/Heritage Images

The Bow-Bell Peal on Christmas Eve, 1850. Illustration to a piece by John Timbs. View of ringers in the belfry in Bow Church, London, during a peal. "...an awful [ie awe-inspiring] thing it is to be in the bell-chamber, and witness the actual ringing of a set of Bells: what with the ponderous masses of metal swinging round and back again, the wheels in perpetual motion, the stunning sound, as the clappers fall, mixed with a constant hurtling humming sound, and the shaking of the tower itself, you might well be excused for feeling a little nervous"...[The bell-ringers] generally ring the peal for pleasure; but, on Christmas Day, and other holidays, they are paid two guineas...They ring once a month for practice and to gratify the neighbourhood. On Christmas Eve they ring at nine; New Year's Eve, from half-past eleven to half-past twelve'. From "Illustrated London News", 1850.