Whitechapel Bell Foundry

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. 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. 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, 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. 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. 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. The foundry was particularly busy after the war, replacing bells lost or damaged by fire in bombing raids across London. 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.

The foundry was sold to US investor Raycliff who proposed their intention to convert the site into a 100 to 108 room hotel at the rear of the building with a bell themed cafe while maintaining space for the production of smaller bells including hand bells. Raycliff hired local architectural practice 31/44 for the design.

The plan has the support of Historic England, 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.” The application has been controversial. 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. Following a public inquiry a planning inspector recommended consent to the Secretary of State who issued a consent with conditions. 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.

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.