Whitechapel Bell Foundry, London: Grade II Listed Icon
The Whitechapel Bell Foundry was a historic bell foundry located in the Whitechapel district of London.
It was established in 1570 and operated continuously for over 450 years until its controversial closure in 2017.
At the time of the closure of its Whitechapel premises, it was the oldest manufacturing company in Great Britain.
The foundry was renowned for producing some of the world's most famous bells, including Big Ben at the Palace of Westminster.
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 a too heavy 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.
The final bill for Big Ben came to £572.
The foundry was particularly busy after the war, replacing bells lost or damaged by fire in bombing raids across London.
Cast in 1752, the Liberty Bell is perhaps the most famous bell produced by the Whitechapel Bell Foundry.
It is located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA, and is an enduring symbol of American independence.
In addition to these famous bells, the Whitechapel Bell Foundry produced bells for churches, cathedrals, universities, and other institutions around the world.
They even designed the Olympic bell seen at the opening ceremony of the London 2021 Olympic Games.
The Olympic Bell is the largest harmonically tuned bell in the world and the widest bell in Britain.
It now hangs in the Queen Elizabeth Park and is not rung because it is deemed too loud to be rung without disturbing local residents.
The building, which housed a 450-year-old workshop, was bought in 2017 for £7.9million by US private investment group Raycliff Capital.
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.
Controversial plans to turn the historic building into a boutique hotel were approved by the Government in 2021…
However, those plans failed to get underway and the foundry has continued to lie empty for around seven years.
Today, the Grade II listed structure is now for sale.
A group has been set up to save the historic gem
’The London Bell Foundry’ was set up by those who have fought since 2016 to save the historic Whitechapel Bell Foundry which has sat empty since its closure.
The group seek to acquire the Grade II* listed building as a permanent home for the London Bell Foundry.
The judgement of the Secretary of State’s Public Inquiry into the future of the foundry in 2020 obligates the owner to ensure foundry activity continues at this site.
They want to open it as a fully-working foundry, re-establishing the world’s most famous bell foundry that operated in Whitechapel for five hundred years from the reign of Elizabeth I to the reign of Elizabeth II.
Their mission is to reinvigorate the art and science of bell founding through a marriage of new and old technology, casting church bells, artists’ bell, ceremonial bells, and bells for all occasions.
They are working with Nigel Taylor, foreman at the Whitechapel Bell Foundry for forty years, alongside artists of international stature and a team of the foremost experts in the technology of casting.
Apparently, the London Bell Foundry has demonstrated a proven financial model that can ensure the tradition of bell founding continues in this country in perpetuity.
Royal visits
In 1919, King George V and Queen Mary visited Whitechapel Bell Foundry where the casting of four new bells for Westminster Abbey was created, in Whitechapel, London.
At the time of the Armistice it was discovered that the bells were in poor condition and a full peal with the usual eight bells could be not done.
The King and Queen therefore made a donation towards the costs of new bells.
And more recently, in 2009, Whitechapel bell foundry was visited by Her Majesty The Queen.
Workers at the foundry demonstrated bell tuning, sand crafting and making leather handles for hand bells.
And of course, the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh signed the visitors’ book.
Someone who toured the historic building, before it closed in 2017, said: “It was great to visit the founders, we all really enjoyed the tour.
It was quite sad to think that after march the founders will no longer be trading in this lovely historic building, to see the work benches, that must have seen some history, ladened with tools and unfinished bells was like looking into a time laps portal.
”I do hope the Whitechapel foundry find new premises and continue trading , it would be a shame to loose one of the oldest , if not the oldest manufacturing industries in the country.”
Although you can no longer enter the building, it’s worth looking at from the outside if you’re ever in the area!
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