Whitechapel Bell Foundry
The Whitechapel Bell Foundry was founded around 1670 and followed operations that had been making bells on Whitechapel Road in the East End of London since the 15th century . It was considered the oldest bell foundry in England. The company was called Mears & Stainbank from the 19th century to 1968 and has been operating as the Whitechapel Foundry ever since.
The company has been owned by the Hughes family since the early 20th century. The head of the company is Kathryn Hughes. In addition to bells , the manufactory also produces carillons , carillons and hand bells .
Whitechapel produced some famous bells as the Liberty Bell ( independence bell ), cast in 1752 for the Independence Hall in Philadelphia , and its successor the bicentennial anniversary of US independence in 1976. The big bell Big Ben on the tower of the Palace of Westminster was built in 1858 and weighing more than 13 tons, it is the largest bell ever cast in Whitechapel. After the Second World War , the foundry supplied bells for the National Cathedral in Washington, DC and Liverpool Cathedral, among other things .
The company was closed in 2017.
Web links
- www.whitechapelbellfoundry.co.uk , company website
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- Marcus Theurer: The chime of eternity ; in: FAZ of December 24, 2013, p. 15
- ^ So Long, Whitechapel Bell Foundry , accessed March 28, 2020