Victorian bauble keeps hanging on
Annabel Smith, 78 holding the silver bauble
This beautiful silver bauble has been lighting up Christmas trees for over 140 years – making it possibly the country’s oldest festive decoration.
Leeds pensioner Annabel Smith, 78, who is pictured with the glass bauble which she was given as a family heirloom, told how it dates back to 1870 when it was bought for her grandfather John Swann.
The festive fixture was purchased in the year A Christmas Carol author Charles Dickens died, midway through Queen Victoria’s reign.
Annabel said: “The story goes that my grandfather was only a baby and he would see this bauble hanging in the shop window of a little store in Newcastle.
“He would cry out for it when he went past and his parents bought him it for Christmas. It has been in my family ever since.”
Email to a friend
Print this page- Books confirm Gulf owners seeking new investment in Leeds Utd
- Gulf owner sells off more of Leeds Utd - but not to Ken Bates
- Huge queues as crash shuts M62 between Leeds and Bradford
- ‘Value play’ as Gulf bank’s books reveal more gambling over Leeds future
- Bolton’s Matt Mills could be £1m Leeds transfer target
Looking for...
Featured advertisers
Jobs
Search for a job
Motors
Search for a car
Property
Search for a house
Weather for Yorkshire
Sunday 19 May 2013
Today
Sunny spells
Temperature: 10 C to 19 C
Wind Speed: 12 mph
Wind direction: West
Tomorrow
Cloudy
Temperature: 11 C to 19 C
Wind Speed: 14 mph
Wind direction: North
