What's an authentic Georgian bell pull?

[Feltwell]

Okay, this is a push not a pull, but it's vaguely on topic......

I've long hated the nasty plastic bell push next to my front door. There is a large round mark on the brickwork next to the door where the old push used to be, and my neighbours still have theirs - although it is in a bad state, it has at least given me an idea of what I presume mine looked like, plus the size matches the mark on my brickwork. Everything I've seen online has been horrifically expensive and not quite the same as the neighbour's.

Then I chanced on this on Ebay for a tenner:-

One quick session with a wood lathe and I made a pattress:-

And a finished item that is almost identical to the neighbour's one. Once weathered down a bit should look the part:- (50p next to it for an idea of scale)

 

[Michelle]

Feltwell, that looks lovely! I hope you post a picture of it mounted on the wall. A tenner - what a bargain. You're very clever, making the pattress - what type of wood have you used?

Joce, I'm looking forward to seeing which style of bell pull you choose.

 

[Feltwell]

Feltwell, that looks lovely! I hope you post a picture of it mounted on the wall. A tenner - what a bargain. You're very clever, making the pattress - what type of wood have you used?

Thank you! Not that clever really, it's a very basic bit of wood-turning - I'm far from being an expert or even a competent amateur.

Type of wood - ahh, a rare species known as "lump that looked nice from pile in Dad's garage"! My parents used to live a few doors from a wood turning supplies shop (their village had no Post Office, Newsagents or General Stores, but it had a wood turning supplies shop!) - when the owner retired my Dad bought a load of his unsold stock of wood blanks from him. It's some sort of oily hardwood so should weather quite well without any further treatment I hope.

 

[Michelle]

Well, you're very modest, and that's a nice quality, but to me you appear to be very competent. Although, shouldn't you be outside now, fixing it to the wall? It's only 10.15pm.

Your Dad's garage sounds like a treasure trove. What village would need a general store when they have a wood turning supplies shop? I was in a village yesterday that has no shop, but does boast an all-in-one premises for 'Funeral Director, Motor Repairs, Carpentry'.

 

[Feltwell]

shouldn't you be outside now, fixing it to the wall? It's only 10.15pm.

You clearly haven't established my approach to project timetabling. The key is to have several projects on the go at once, to the eternal dismay of the very, very tolerant Mrs F. The bellpush has been in the cupboard for several months already!

Like most jobs on an old house, it's not straightforward. The current bellpush is on the opposite side of the door to where the original one was, so the wiring needs to be moved, which means wrecking the decoration in the porch....

I was in a village yesterday that has no shop, but does boast an all-in-one premises for 'Funeral Director, Motor Repairs, Carpentry'.

I guess he can make his own coffins and fix the hearse then! I did see a Funeral Directors that was also a pub in a very rural part of Ireland a few years ago.

 

[Feltwell]

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[Feltwell]

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[Feltwell]

Don't you just hate it when a post refuses to submit, so you try again and again - and when it finally does submit, they all appear.

 

[JoceAndChris]

Do you know -that's never happened to me, I wonder why. But I know it happens to lots of people.

Lovely work Feltwell, extremely smart and very in keeping. Fantastic value for money too - well done.

Michelle, how sweet of you to be interested. I think I'm leaning towards this as it ticks all the boxes (except the box labelled "buy less brass as it's a b*gger to clean")

http://www.broughtons.com/product_details.php?p_id=3450&vlang_id=3449&sqs=enm3Qp83dFe1JXu3rFdY6ZGz9v3I_4K6DikummehfOQE6BB_vKicO0fsJjN0MYEKqvYqUb7dzXb_kQI9wVeMJ2JRuBOnoBUryVukQwDskj4Xr_3BqqVp/3aXRnttE4DxULlgkbd5NAxqgeCveQ9q6LgURUicQQWBu8BYuzI6Espq7AlSmkuKkSWHW9Ct7CGTz8HWAkFJnihP6H0rFdPJGJPEhIgOFQdhGxrCJPrYqczQaz1iUAGSwmHDoTP6jtcvNlIknzMEAPlPCT/k2mBOgTrhZYYqEUizsssN32J46WAi95tYxtKD1Jnz93mSKtoHk3XBnwAujnJc/QajTb7Lc45Pg_vRVrUbab88oswag/7XIpCm6jnEiTcECgSdmho/9j0nd4ZFTFgQWe/6fsXOyL5x2S2hV/gdk5aBGhJU5l7n/f2PBFGCDmPulGBxUJ8mBi_WYRLa3zMxcWAPiB/QuiV8WFqFg9484hFv/Zy/ORgeIIu0_7exIE2jJdr26yrAl7pmyiKxG1LxhMRkeqgdyDhcpUqNmo10k/o7Kvvk8h3XCM1e_UMMb_ZpmJ/0VSGZSAsJw5JMmon6FPqCLqKTiQAj1MIdJkL_sF1SsKPvt7RTsKvQy8uwW5cmafBqWlFP6xWwu9kuIzHborA4x8CVyfNC311yqKVwRP4xgVfhhvLIeBnqjDS/Zm_ifdxmXTRJ5nNh820NbbbIMAZudn7uYA==

 

[Moo]

£145 for something that's going to add even more to the work-load?

Have you worked out how many hours of your lovely cleaner's time that would buy, Joce?

 

[Juju]

Joce - my favourite shop has a selection of bell pushes and pulls, levers, pulleys etc:

http://www.tryrelics.co.uk/catalogue/I/09

 

[JoceAndChris]

Thanks Juju! A lovely brass one there too.

But Moo's right - I mustn't buy anymore brass, I mustn't buy anymore brass, I mustn't buy... oh, but it's the front door!

 

[Flyfisher]

The current bellpush is on the opposite side of the door to where the original one was, so the wiring needs to be moved, which means wrecking the decoration in the porch....

Having made such a good-looking job of that new/old bell-push, couldn't it be 'temporarily' fixed in place of the existing "nasty plastic" one? At least you'd know where it was when you finally get around to re-wiring/redecorating the porch, rather than losing it in storage somewhere.

 

[Gareth Hughes]

Bronze is far more stylish. It shows you don't need to impress with bling.

 

[Gareth Hughes]

How odd - my last was a response to a Joce post that has completely disappeared! :?

 

[JoceAndChris]

I didn't disappear it! Is malware munching bits of the forum away? And yet, I see what I wrote, in the dialogue below this "Post a Reply" box. How odd. And FF's response doesn't show up either.

I'll try to find bronze then Mr Hughes. I'm sure you're right, you know I'm always fighting my inner Arabian love of all things glittering and golden. It's my grandma's fault- more another time.

 

[Flyfisher]

Yes, how odd. My last post, yesterday evening, has disappeared although Joce must have read it to even know about it.

I don't think it was even particularly contentious:

Like most jobs on an old house, it's not straightforward. The current bellpush is on the opposite side of the door to where the original one was, so the wiring needs to be moved, which means wrecking the decoration in the porch....

Having made such a good-looking job of that new/old bell-push, would it not be preferable to install it in place of the "nasty plastic" one, albeit on the wrong side of the porch, until you get around to redecorating and re-wiring the porch? At least it wouldn't get lost whilst in storage.

 

[Gareth Hughes]

I didn't disappear it! Is malware munching bits of the forum away? And yet, I see what I wrote, in the dialogue below this "Post a Reply" box. How odd. And FF's response doesn't show up either.

I'll try to find bronze then Mr Hughes. I'm sure you're right, you know I'm always fighting my inner Arabian love of all things glittering and golden. It's my grandma's fault- more another time.

Totally separate subject, except that it relates to the improvement of Beacon Cottage, but I've just found an inscription to accompany the poem to Cloacina that we've discussed here before -

Iti Sapis Potanda Bigo Ne

And for the garden benches:

Ventosa viri, restabit

and

Ore stabit fortis arare placet ore stat

 

[Penners]

my last was a response to a Joce post that has completely disappeared! :?

Glory is fleeting, but obscurity is forever.

 

[Feltwell]

Like most jobs on an old house, it's not straightforward. The current bellpush is on the opposite side of the door to where the original one was, so the wiring needs to be moved, which means wrecking the decoration in the porch....

Having made such a good-looking job of that new/old bell-push, would it not be preferable to install it in place of the "nasty plastic" one, albeit on the wrong side of the porch, until you get around to redecorating and re-wiring the porch? At least it wouldn't get lost whilst in storage.

Trouble is, a reasnobly substantial hole needs putting in the brickwork to install it - the current "nasty plastic" one being mounted on the door frame. The original position already has said hole - filled with some kind of strange spongy substance, it looks a bit like vermiculite mixed into a very weak mortar, which I suppose it could be - it gets used for fires.

As it's only bell-wire I may be able to just tack it round the inside of the frame until I get around to doing the inside of the porch properly.