birmingham · cast 1894 · two pounds nine
a brass plate-bell on the inside of the door, the wire run under the lintel to a knob on the outside step. the bell-housing is mounted at chest height so the hammer falls with the weight of the visitor's intention.
the pull is broken: the wire snapped sometime in the war and was not replaced. it still rings, occasionally — when the door slams hard, or in a particular kind of east wind. what stops it is the bolt being thrown for the night, which catches the hammer against the plate.
field-note · the polish on the plate stops abruptly six inches above the floor. a small dog used to live in the house.
threshold · a single ring · knock · visitor · door hinge