Notes & Queries Archive
QUERY1850

Ringing a Handbell before a Corpse

By A. G. (Ecclesfield)

Is it true that whenever an interment takes place in Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford, the corpse is preceded on its way to the grave by a person who rings a small handbell at intervals, each time giving a few tinkling strokes? My informant on this subject was an Oxford undergraduate, who said that he had recently witnessed the burials both of Mr. ——, a late student of Christ Church, and of Miss ——, daughter of a living bishop: and he assured me that in both cases this ceremony was observed. Certainly it is possible to go through the academical course at Oxford without either hearing the bell,…

Topics: Funeral Customs, Academical Traditions

Locations: Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford