The lady in the bell,
East Hagbourne, Oxfordshire, England.

Some photographs of  the bells of St Andrew's, East Hagbourne, were recently rediscovered in a magazine dated about 1910.  They are the only known photos of the bells before they were rehung on a metal frame in the 1920s.

This photo of the lady standing inside the upright tenor bell (21 cwt), early in the 1900s, is so unusual that we have had it printed and are selling cards to raise money for local tower funds.

These quality, sepia tone, glossy cards are blank inside, so you can add your own message for any occasion.

It is possible that the lady was a local ringer, Miss Nightingale, who was notable for ringing a peal at the neighbouring tower of Blewbury in the early 1900s.  At the time there were very few lady ringers.

All proceeds go towards St Andrews’ Tower Funds, helping to ensure that we can continue to ring for another hundred years!

Price £3 for a pack of 5, plus postage and packing.

Available from Nick Balshaw.  Please contact me for further details.

Safety Note

No - obviously I wouldn't advocate trying to reconstruct this photograph in your own tower.  Clearly it would be very dangerous to attempt this.  However, I see no reason to believe that this photograph is a fake.  Whatever else you say about it, it must be safer than skiing!