Whitechapel Bell Foundry

{{Short description|Defunct bell foundry in London, England}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}

File:Whitechapel Bell Foundry.jpg]]

The Whitechapel Bell Foundry was a business in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. At the time of the closure of its Whitechapel premises, it was the oldest manufacturing company in Great Britain.[http://www.whitechapelbellfoundry.co.uk/foundry.htm "500 Years of History"] Whitechapel Bell Foundry website, accessed 26 December 2013.

The bell foundry primarily made church bells and their fittings and accessories, although it also provided single tolling bells, carillon bells and handbells. The foundry was notable for being the original manufacturer of the Liberty Bell, a famous symbol of American independence, and for re-casting Big Ben, which rings from the north clock tower (the Elizabeth Tower) at the Houses of Parliament in London.

The Whitechapel premises are a Grade II*{{NHLE|desc=Whitechapel Bell Foundry, 32-34 Whitechapel Road, 2 Fieldgate Street and workshops to the rear|num=1357529|access-date=3 July 2020}} listed building. The foundry closed on 12 June 2017, after nearly 450 years of bell-making and 250 years at its Whitechapel site,{{cite web|last1=The Gentle Author|title=So Long, Whitechapel Bell Foundry|url=http://spitalfieldslife.com/2016/12/02/so-long-whitechapel-bell-foundry/|website=Spitalfields Life|access-date=2 December 2016}} with the final bell cast given to the Museum of London along with other artefacts used in the manufacturing process, and the building has been sold.{{cite news|last1=Farrell|first1=Sean|title=Whitechapel Bell Foundry to ring in new era as owner sells site|url=https://www.theguardian.com/business/2016/dec/02/whitechapel-bell-foundry-to-ring-in-new-era-as-owner-sells-site|access-date=2 December 2016|work=Guardian|date=2 December 2016}}{{cite web|title=So Long, Whitechapel Bell Foundry|url=http://spitalfieldslife.com/2016/12/02/so-long-whitechapel-bell-foundry/|website=Spitalfields Life|access-date=6 December 2016|date=2 December 2016}}

Following the sale of the Whitechapel Bell Foundry, the bell patents were sold to the bell-hanging company Whites of Appleton in Oxfordshire, with which the foundry had a business relationship for 197 years. The rights to tower bell production are now under the ownership of Westley Group Ltd. Production of presentation and hand bells continues under the name Bells of Whitechapel Ltd.

History

The bell founding industry around Aldgate and Whitechapel can be traced back to at least 1360, and a few years later, Geoffrey Chaucer, living in a room in the Aldgate itself, described the presence of a bell founding industry in the area.London Bell foundry history https://www.thelondonbellfoundry.co.uk/the-past The Master Founders (bell makers) of Aldgate and Whitechapel, can be traced back to 1420.

The Whitechapel Bell Foundry company began in 1570. The last premises at 32–34 Whitechapel Road, backing on to Plumbers Row, dates from 1670 and was formerly a coaching inn called "The Artichoke" which had been damaged in the Great Fire of London. The Artichoke ceased trading in 1738 and the following year the Whitechapel Bell Foundry moved into the premises. The foundry remained at the site until May 2017.Winn, p. 201. It was one of only two bell foundries left in the UK and had been in continuous production for almost 450 years.

The three bells manufacturer's mark can be seen on the bells and the three bells sign hung over the door of the Whitechapel site. According to previous owners Alan and Kathryn Hughes, the foundry had been a family-owned company throughout its history continuing when Alan Hughes's grandfather bought the company in 1904,{{cite news|last1=Harley|first1=Nicola|title=Bell tolls for world's oldest foundry|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/12/02/britains-oldest-bell-foundry-cast-big-ben-close/|website=Telegraph|date=2 December 2016 |access-date=2 December 2016}} until its sale to Westley group in 2017.

The business had to adapt throughout the centuries and in modern times, with new churches being built less frequently, produced handbells and doorbells. It responded to a surge in orders for table bells, following the popularity of the ITV period drama Downton Abbey, with a third of its sales going overseas.{{cite web|last1=Anderson|first1=Elizabeth|title=Ringing in the New Year – Britain's oldest manufacturer on five centuries of bell making|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/businessclub/11310150/Ringing-in-the-New-Year-Britains-oldest-manufacturer-on-five-centuries-of-bell-making.html|website=Telegraph |date=31 December 2014 |access-date=2 December 2016}} In 2013 the foundry launched an online shop selling house bells, musical instruments and personalised merchandise. The large bell business has been largely unaffected by periods of financial depression, partly because from enquiry to completion an order takes on average 11 years. During World War II the foundry was used as a munitions production line, making casings for the War Office.{{cite web|last1=Murray Brown|first1=John|title=Big Ben and Liberty Bell maker to close London foundry|url=https://www.ft.com/content/9269518a-b87d-11e6-ba85-95d1533d9a62 |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221210/https://www.ft.com/content/9269518a-b87d-11e6-ba85-95d1533d9a62 |archive-date=10 December 2022 |url-access=subscription|website=Financial Times|access-date=2 December 2016}} {{cquote|text=The government not only guaranteed the orders. They guaranteed good prices and they also guaranteed quick payment, which is something that the Church of England has never managed to do with us.|author=Alan Hughes}} The foundry was particularly busy after the war, replacing bells lost or damaged by fire in bombing raids across London.{{cite news|title=Bell foundry famous for creating Big Ben to close|url=http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/business/news/bell-foundry-famous-for-creating-big-ben-to-close-35263368.html|newspaper=Belfasttelegraph.co.uk|date=2 December 2016 |access-date=2 December 2016}} Hughes said "Our business runs counter to the national economy. If the economy goes down and unemployment rises, we start to get busy. Last year was our busiest in thirty years, an increase of 27% on the previous year. Similarly, the nineteen twenties were very busy." Hughes also tells a story of an order requested of his grandfather in the 1890s which his father quoted again for in the 1950s and he himself gave a quote for in the 1970s. The order was finally completed in 1998.

In March 2017 a consortium of heritage groups, including Save Britain's Heritage, the East End Preservation Society, the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings, the Ancient Monuments Society and the Royal Academy of Arts attempted to have the foundry's Grade II* premises re-listed as a Grade I listed building as an asset of community value to preserve the historical importance of the building within the wider east end community.{{cite web|last1=Hartman|first1=Stephanie|title=Here's how you can help save the Whitechapel Bell Foundry from closing down|url=https://www.timeout.com/london/blog/heres-how-you-can-help-save-the-whitechapel-bell-foundry-from-closing-down-031617|website=Time Out|date=16 March 2017 |access-date=27 May 2017}}{{cite web|last1=Author|first1=The Gentle|title=Save The Whitechapel Bell Foundry|url=http://spitalfieldslife.com/2017/03/11/save-the-whitechapel-bell-foundry/|website=Spitalfields Life|access-date=27 May 2017}}

The foundry was sold to US investor Raycliff who proposed their intention to convert the site into a 100{{cite web|title=Foundry Hotel|url=https://www.3144architects.com/project/foundry-hotel/|website=31/44 Architects |access-date=29 June 2020}} to 108{{cite news|last1=Morrison|first1=Richard|url=https://www.thetimes.com/life-style/article/richard-morrison-ring-the-changes-and-allow-development-of-a-historic-bell-foundry-pzk6w2ltn|title=Ring the changes and allow development of a historic bell foundry|work=The Times|date=15 February 2019|access-date=29 June 2020}} room hotel at the rear of the building with a bell themed cafe{{cite web|title=The Bell Foundry|url=https://www.3144architects.com/project/the-bell-foundry/|website=31/44 Architects |access-date=29 June 2020}} while maintaining space for the production of smaller bells including hand bells.{{cite web |last1=Morley |first1=Kate |title=Ding-dong battle to save foundry that made Big Ben |url=https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/world/106032664/dingdong-battle-to-save-foundry-that-made-big-ben |website=Stuff |access-date=21 November 2018}} Raycliff hired local architectural practice 31/44 for the design.{{cite news|last1=Moore|first1=Rowan|url=https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2019/mar/03/whitechapel-bell-foundry-plans-royal-college-of-pathologists|title=Ringing the changes at the Whitechapel Bell Foundry|publisher=Guardian News & Media Limited|work=The Observer|date=3 March 2019|access-date=3 July 2020|quote="Raycliff have also hired the local architectural practice 31/44 to design scrupulously sensitive adjustments to the old buildings and a dignified form for the hotel."}}{{cite web |title=The Bell Foundry |url=https://www.3144architects.com/project/the-bell-foundry/ |website=31/44 Architects|access-date=3 July 2020}}{{cite web |title=Foundry Hotel |url=https://www.3144architects.com/project/foundry-hotel/ |website=31/44 Architects|access-date=3 July 2020}}

The plan has the support of Historic England,{{cite news|last1=Pickford|first1=James|url=https://www.ft.com/content/a0e45906-21bd-11ea-92da-f0c92e957a96 |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221210/https://www.ft.com/content/a0e45906-21bd-11ea-92da-f0c92e957a96 |archive-date=10 December 2022 |url-access=subscription|title=Battle over Britain's historic bell foundry far from over|publisher=The Financial Times Ltd|work=Financial Times|date=25 December 2019|access-date=3 July 2020|quote="The Raycliff plan also has the support of Historic England, the statutory body, which has pointed to its inclusion of a small bell production unit."}} described by one journalist as “a public body which gives paid advice to property developers to encourage them to get through the existing planning systems.”{{cite web |last1=Saumarez Smith |first1=Charles |title=The sad, shameful demise of the Whitechapel Bell Foundry |url=https://www.apollo-magazine.com/whitechapel-bell-foundry-decision-boutique-hotel/ |website=Apollo Magazine |date=14 May 2021 |access-date=17 May 2022}} The application has been controversial.{{cite news|last1=White|first1=Bella|url=https://www.eastlondonlines.co.uk/2019/10/whitechapel-bell-foundry-owner-hits-back-at-anti-redevelopment-campaign/|title=Whitechapel Bell Foundry owner hits back at anti-redevelopment campaign|publisher=Journalism Students at Goldsmiths, University of London|work=EastLondonLines|date=23 October 2019|access-date=3 July 2020|quote="The owner of Whitechapel Bell Foundry has told EastLondonLines that campaigners objecting to the redevelopment of the site have 'misled the public'."}}{{cite news|last1=Gambetta|first1=Georgina|url=https://www.eastlondonlines.co.uk/2019/11/not-saved-by-the-bell-whitechapel-bell-foundry-to-be-transformed/|title=Not saved by the bell:Whitechapel Bell Foundry plan approved despite anger|publisher=Journalism Students at Goldsmiths, University of London|work=EastLondonLines|date=15 November 2019|access-date=3 July 2020|quote="Plans to transform the five-hundred-year-old Whitechapel Bell Foundry into a boutique hotel and multi-purpose space were approved last night despite strong opposition from local residents."}}{{cite news|last1=Morrison|first1=Richard|url=https://www.thetimes.com/life-style/article/richard-morrison-ring-the-changes-and-allow-development-of-a-historic-bell-foundry-pzk6w2ltn|title=Ring the changes and allow development of a historic bell foundry|publisher=Times Newspapers Limited|work=The Times|date=15 February 2019|access-date=3 July 2020|quote="[T]he choice is between a properly financed scheme that will preserve this uniquely evocative site (and resuscitate it as a working foundry), or a vague and financially unsustainable plan from well-meaning people who don't even own the building."}}{{cite web|last1=Author|first1=The Gentle|title=Hope For The Whitechapel Bell Foundry|url=https://spitalfieldslife.com/2018/06/21/hope-for-the-whitechapel-bell-foundry/|website=Spitalfields Life|date=21 June 2018|access-date=3 July 2020}} The application was called in by the government on 22 January 2020, preventing the London Borough of Tower Hamlets from proceeding with the planning application pending the outcome of further public inquiry. The London Bell Foundry, a not for profit company dedicated to saving the historic foundry as a working enterprise, made an offer to purchase the site in November 2022.

{{cite web |title=The Secretary Of State Steps In |url=https://spitalfieldslife.com/2019/12/04/the-secretary-of-state-steps-in/ |website=Spitalfields Life |access-date=29 April 2020}}{{cite letter

| author = The Rt Robert Jenrick MP

| recipient = Rt Hon Sir Edward Leigh MP

| subject = Call in of planning proposal at The Bell Foundry, 32-34 Whitechapel Road, 2 Fieldgate Street and land to the rear, London E1 1EW - application numbers PA/19/00008/A1 and PA/19/00009/NC

| date = 22 January 2020

| url = https://twitter.com/EdwardLeighMP/status/1220001443555483648/photo/1

}}{{cite web|title=Whitechapel Bell Foundry|url=https://www.thebellfoundry.co.uk|website=Whitechapel Bell Foundry|access-date=26 April 2020}}[https://factumfoundation.org/our-projects/institutional-collaborations/the-london-bell-foundry/ The London Bell Foundry]

{{Clear}}

File:Cast Bells Whitechapel Bell Foundry 01.jpg|alt=Bells for Rothbury Church, Northumberland, c. 1893|Cast Bells by Whitechapel Bell Foundry, 1893 State Library of New South Wales

File:Church Bells in the workshop at Whitechapel Bell Foundry.jpg|alt=Moulds for the bells at Rothbury, Northumberland, 1893.|Church Bells in the workshop at Whitechapel Bell Foundry, 1893

File:Moulds for church bells Whitechapel Bell Foundry.jpg|Moulds for church bells in the workshop at Whitechapel Bell Foundry

Notable bells

File:Liberty Bell 2008.jpg in Philadelphia]]

Many churches across the world have bells cast by the Whitechapel Bell Foundry, but arguably its two best-known examples are not in places of worship. In 1752 the foundry (known at the time as Lester and Pack){{cite web |title=Sons of the American Revolution holds September meeting |url=http://www.observertoday.com/life/community-news/2018/10/sons-of-the-american-revolution-holds-september-meeting/ |website=The Observer |access-date=21 November 2018}} cast the Liberty Bell, which was commissioned to celebrate the 50th anniversary of William Penn's 1701 Charter of Privileges, Pennsylvania's original constitution.

As a result of damage sustained during its stormy passage across the Atlantic, the bell cracked when it was first rung, and after repeated repairs cracked again in 1846 when rung to mark the birthday of George Washington. Since 2003, the bell has been housed at the Liberty Bell Center near Independence Hall.

Big Ben, which tolls the hour at the Palace of Westminster, was cast in 1858 and rung for the first time on 31 May 1859. "Big Ben" weighs 13½ tons and is the largest bell ever cast at the foundry. This bell also cracked because too heavy a hammer was initially used. The crack and the subsequent retuning gives Big Ben its present distinctive tone. A profile template of Big Ben surrounds the entrance door of the Whitechapel Foundry, while the original moulding gauge is retained near the furnaces.[http://www.whitechapelbellfoundry.co.uk/bigben.htm Whitechapel Bell Foundry The Story of Big Ben] accessed 21 May 2007 The final bill for Big Ben came to £572.{{cite news|last1=Chaudhuri|first1=Saabira|title=Bell Tolls for London's Whitechapel Foundry, Which Made the Liberty Bell and Big Ben|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/bell-tolls-for-londons-whitechapel-foundry-1480696741|newspaper=WSJ|access-date=2 December 2016}}

Whitechapel has supplied bells to several cathedrals. Guildford Cathedral in Surrey had a peal of 10 bells (later augmented to 12),[http://www.guildford-cathedral.org/music/bellringing "Bell Ringing"], Guildford Cathedral website, accessed 26 December 2013. Canterbury Cathedral augmented its bells to a peal of 14 in 1981,[http://canterbury-cathedral.org/community/volunteers/bellringers/ "Bells of Canterbury Cathedral"], Canterbury Cathedral website, accessed 26 December 2013. and the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C. in 1962.[http://dove.cccbr.org.uk/detail.php?searchString=washington&Submit=+Go+&DoveID=WASHINGTDC Dove's guide]. The foundry produced "Great Tom" at Lincoln Cathedral,{{cite web|last1=Pickford|first1=Chris|title=Great Bells of Britain|url=http://www.keltektrust.org.uk/downloads/Great_bells_of_GB.xls|access-date=3 November 2014|archive-date=21 February 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140221211806/http://www.keltektrust.org.uk/downloads/Great_bells_of_GB.xls|url-status=dead}} the "Clock Bells" at St Paul's Cathedral, the bells of Westminster AbbeyWinn, p. 202. Upon the construction of its tower between 1924 and 1942, the foundry cast 14 bells for the Liverpool Cathedral which all include psalm texts engravings.{{NHLE|num=1361681 |desc=ANGLICAN CATHEDRAL CHURCH OF CHRIST| access-date= 11 June 2017}} The bells are notable for being the heaviest change ringing peal of bells in the world. The foundry's bellfounder at that time, Albert Hughes, is commemorated in a stained glass window in the nave.

File:Big Ben 2001-06-27.jpg in Westminster has the best-known chime in the world]]

Churches with bells from Whitechapel include ones as near as St Mary-le-Bow, Cheapside and as far as the Armenian Church, Chennai, India. English examples include St Dunstan's, Stepney and St Dunstan's, Mayfield; St Michael's, Beckwithshaw; St Mary-le-More, Wallingford{{Cite web|url=https://dove.cccbr.org.uk/detail.php?searchString=Wallingford&Submit=+Go+&DoveID=WALLINGFOR|title=Wallingford S Mary le More|last=James|first=Hedgecock|date=21 August 2012|website=Dove's Guide for Church Bell Ringers.}} Church of St Thomas the Apostle, Killinghall; and St Michael and All Angels, Leaden Roding. American churches in the Anglican Communion, for example St. Michael's Church, in Charleston, South Carolina. Australian churches include St Bartholomew's Church, Burnley,{{cite web|title=St Bartholomew's Burnley Bell Tower|url=http://www.stbarts-burnley.org/bell-ringers|website=St Bartholomew's Anglican Church, Parish of Burnley, Richmond|access-date=3 January 2017}} St Stephen's Anglican Church, Newtown; St Philip's Church{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article108990835 |title=Tower of St. Philips, Church Hill, Sydney |newspaper=Construction and Local Government Journal (NSW : 1913–1930) |location=NSW |date=9 February 1927 |access-date=12 December 2013 |page=13 |publisher=National Library of Australia}} and St James' Church, Sydney.{{cite web |url= http://dove.cccbr.org.uk/detail.php?&DoveID=SYDNEY+++J |title= Sydney, Queen's Square, St James|first= Andrew|last=Higson|work=Dove's Guide for Church Bell Ringers |date=29 January 2010 |access-date=17 November 2013}} In Canada, the towers of Notre-Dame Basilica in Montreal house one of the world's largest bells and a ten-bell carillon.https://www.basiliquenotredame.ca/en/restoration-project

Bells not in churches include civic focal points such as a clock tower; Thomas Mears II cast the bell for Herne Bay Clock Tower in 1837.Bundock, Mike (2000). Herne Bay Clock Tower: A descriptive history. Herne Bay: Pierhead Publications. {{ISBN|978-0-9538977-0-4}}, page 20 The Old Post Office in Washington, D.C., USA, has a ring of 10 bells in the key of D (tenor 26 cwt) that were cast by the Whitechapel Foundry in 1976, installed in 1982, and dedicated in 1983. The bells range in weight from 581 to 2953 pounds. These bells, referred to as The Congress Bells, were a gift to the US Congress from Britain's Ditchley Foundation to celebrate the bicentennial of American independence.

The sterling silver bell [https://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205160198 silver ships bell] on post WW II HMS Ark Royals (4 - 1955) and (5 - 1985) is said (by Taylor's of Loughborough to have been cast by Whitechapel Foundry)

Following the September 11 attacks on the United States in 2001, the company made a tribute bell, the Bell of Hope, as a gift from the people of London to the city of New York. It is rung at 08:46 each year on the anniversary of the tragedy, the time the first plane hit the first tower.{{cite news|title=Bell of Hope rings for 9/11 attack victims – video|url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/video/2016/sep/11/bell-hope-rings-911-attack-victims-new-york-video|website=Guardian|date=11 September 2016 |access-date=2 December 2016}} It was designed by architect Paul Byard and was rung for the first time on American soil by the Bishop of New York, the Rt. Rev. Mark S. Sisk. The bell resided at Trinity Church (Manhattan),{{cite web|title=New York: The 9-11 bell dedication|url=http://www.whitechapelbellfoundry.co.uk/newsi.htm|website=Whitechapel Bell Foundry|access-date=2 December 2016}} before being moved to St. Paul's Chapel. In 2005 it was rung again four times for the people killed in the 7 July 2005 London bombings.{{cite web|last1=Colby|first1=Edward B.|title=9-11 Bell honors London victims|url=http://www.nydailynews.com/archives/news/9-11-bell-honors-london-victims-article-1.624007|website=New York Daily News|access-date=2 December 2016}}

File:Bradley Wiggins 2012 Summer Olympics opening ceremony.jpg began the 2012 London Olympics opening ceremony by ringing the Olympic Bell.]]

The Whitechapel Bell Foundry designed the Olympic Bell seen at the opening ceremony for the London 2012 Olympic Games, although it was not cast on the premises. The furnaces at Whitechapel could not provide the 23 tons of molten metal required to make the bell, so it was manufactured at a factory in the Netherlands which normally produces ship's propellers.[https://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/olympics/london-2012/9215198/London-2012-Olympic-bell-made-in-Holland.html "London 2012: Olympic bell made in Holland"], The Telegraph (online edition), 20 April 2012, accessed 26 December 2013.

The Olympic Bell is the largest harmonically tuned bell in the world and the widest bell in Britain.{{cite web|title=London 2012 opening ceremony bell|url=http://www.queenelizabetholympicpark.co.uk/media/press-releases/2015/8/london-2012-opening-ceremony-bell-to-return-to-queen-elizabeth-olympic-park|website=Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park|publisher=Mayor of London|access-date=23 January 2017}} It now hangs in the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, but is not rung because it is deemed too loud to be rung without disturbing local residents.{{cite web|last1=Whetstone|first1=Sean|title=Olympic Bell re-installed next to Iron's new home|url=http://www.claretandhugh.info/olympic-bell-re-installed-next-to-west-hams-new-home/|website=Claret and Hugh|date=30 May 2016 |access-date=23 January 2017}}

The Foundry cast the Royal Jubilee Bells used on the lead barge for the Thames Diamond Jubilee Pageant the same summer,{{cite news|title=Thank you one and all: the people who helped make the Jubilee happen|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/the_queens_diamond_jubilee/9321258/Thank-you-one-and-all-the-people-who-helped-make-the-Jubilee-happen.html|newspaper=Daily Telegraph|date=10 June 2012}} which now hang in the church of St James Garlickhythe.

Damon Albarn had three bells cast from the foundry for "On Melancholy Hill" for the Gorillaz album Plastic Beach, although they were not used on the final song. These were cast in the notes D, A and C-sharp. However one of the bells is often used on live versions of "We Got the Power".

The last bell to be cast at the foundry was on 22 March 2017, and was given to the Museum of London along with historical artefacts from the premises. The manufacturing patents for the Whitechapel bells have been sold to the bell-hanging company, Whites of Appleton in Oxfordshire, with whom the foundry has had a business relationship for 197 years.{{cite web|last1=Enfield|first1=Laura|title=Silence falls at Whitechapel Bell Foundry|url=http://www.wharf.co.uk/news/business/silence-falls-whitechapel-bell-foundry-12819814|website=The Wharf|access-date=27 May 2017}}{{cite web|title=UK's oldest manufacturing company has cast its final tower bells at its Whitechapel Road site|url=http://www.whitechapelbellfoundry.co.uk/news.htm|website=Whitechapel Bell Foundry|access-date=27 May 2017}}

{{anchor|Master founders at Whitechapel }}Master founders

The names on this list are those that are cast into the surface of Whitechapel bells of different dates. Prior to Robert Mot, in 1574, the sign of three bells was often cast to indicate that it was a Whitechapel (or Aldgate) bell.[http://www.whitechapelbellfoundry.co.uk/identify.htm Whitechapel Bell foundry Identifying bells] accessed 21 May 2007[http://www.tower-bridge.org.uk/bells.htm John Rennie – Bells that tolled across the world] accessed 21 May 2007

{{col div}}

  • 1420 Robert Chamberlain of Aldgate
  • 1426 William Chamberlain
  • 1456 John Daniel
  • 1470 John Daniel's Successor
  • 1487 IW
  • 1500–1515 Thomas Bullisdon
  • 1506–1522 William Culverden
  • 1523 Thomas Lawrence
  • 1538 John Owen
  • 1553 Thomas Kempe
  • 1574 Robert Mot
  • 1606 Joseph Carter
  • 1610 William Carter
  • 1616 Thomas Bartlet
  • 1632 John Clifton
  • 1640 Anthony Bartlet
  • 1675 James Bartlet
  • 1700 Richard Phelps
  • 1735 Phelps and Lester
  • 1738 Thomas Lester
  • 1752 Lester and Pack
  • 1769 Lester, Pack and Chapman
  • 1769 Pack and Chapman{{Cite book| publisher = Elliot Stock| last = Stahlschmidt| first = John Charles Lett| title = The Church Bells of Kent, their Inscriptions, Founders, Uses and Traditions| location = London| date = 1887|page=112}}
  • 1781 Chapman and Mears
  • 1784 William Mears
  • 1787 William and Thomas Mears
  • 1791 Thomas Mears I
  • 1805 Mears and Son
  • 1810 Thomas Mears II
  • 1844 Charles and George Mears
  • 1861 George Mears and Co
  • 1865 Mears and Stainbank
  • 1873 Robert Stainbank
  • 1884 Alfred Lawson
  • 1904 Arthur Hughes
  • 1916 Albert Hughes
  • 1945 Albert and William Hughes
  • 1950 Albert, William and Douglas Hughes
  • 1964 William and Douglas Hughes
  • 1972 William, Douglas and Alan Hughes
  • 1993 Douglas and Alan Hughes
  • 1997 Alan and Kathryn Hughes

{{col div end}}

Gallery

File:The Jessen Bell, St. John's Anglican Church, Lunenburg, Nova Scotia.jpg|The Jessen Bell (1814), St. John's Anglican Church (Lunenburg), Nova Scotia, Canada

File:Bell makers' memorial wall inside Whitechapel Bell Foundry.jpg|Bell makers' memorial inside the foundry

File:St Bees bells in up position.jpg|The bells of St Bees Priory shown in the "up" position. Cast by Charles & George Mears in 1857

File:Tod Uni Church Bells.jpg|The Robert Stainbank tenor bell from Todmorden Unitarian Church, West Yorkshire, during overhaul in 2014. The bell was cast in 1868.

File:Handbells at Whitechapel Bell Foundry.jpg|Handbells on the workbench at the foundry

File:Big Ben at the foundry - geograph.org.uk - 1288308.jpg|Template for Big Ben which hangs at the foundry

File:Bell-wiki.jpg|The oldest bell in Barbados (1696)

File:Guildford Cathedral Bell - geograph.org.uk - 1398109.jpg|Guildford Cathedral bell cast at Whitechapel

File:St James Church, Sydney - Mears Bell.jpg|Mears Bell, St James' Church, Sydney waiting to be re-hung after repairs in 2011

References

{{reflist|30em}}

Sources

  • {{cite book |last1=Foreman |first1=Lewis |last2=Foreman |first2=Susan |year=2005 |title=London: A Musical Gazetteer |location=London |publisher=Yale University Press |isbn=978-0-300-10402-8}}
  • {{cite book |last= Winn |first=Christopher |year=2007 |title=I Never Knew That About London |url= https://archive.org/details/ineverknewthatab0000winn_e8h7 |url-access= registration |location=London |publisher=Ebury Press |isbn=978-0-09-194319-6}}

Further reading

  • {{cite web |title=Whitechapel Bell Foundry, 32–34 Whitechapel Road |url=https://surveyoflondon.org/map/feature/155/detail/ |website=Survey of London |access-date=12 September 2024}}