The Two Silver Bells
October 7, 2008
Goose fair is opened by Nottingham’s Lord Mayor every year at high noon. The opening ceremony features the ringing of two silver bells. This year (2008) the bells were rung by Councillor Mohammed Munir. 2008 is the 714th Goose Fair.
The bells were commissioned by the great showman Tom Norman (1860 – 1930). Norman was a licensed auctioneer who moved into showmanship, managing side shows as diverse as The Elephant Man, Phoebe the Strange Girl and Lord George Sanger’s Zoo.
Norman commissioned the two silver bells sometime 1880 and 1915, as yet we have not managed to source the exact date. The bells were cast in Oldham at Mellor’s Owl Lamp Works. They were especially silver plated for Norman as he was known as ‘The Silver King’. Also unknown is the year in which the bells were first used as a focal point for the Goose Fair opening ceremony, however there is photographic evidence of the bells being rung as part of the 1920 opening ceremony in Nottingham’s market square.
References:
The Great Nottingham Goose Fair by Peter Wilkes pub 1989
http://www.nfa.dept.shef.ac.uk/history/shows/norman.html
Entry Filed under: History, People. Tags: Goose Fair, Nottingham, Silver Bells, Tom Norman.
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1. Caught on the job! « Area 4 History | October 14, 2008 at 9:46 am
[...] on the job! Whilst photographing The Two Silver Bells item we snapped this image of Counsellor Tony Marshall (Lib Dem) ringing the bells for the fun of [...]