Whitechapel
Bell Foundry
Preserve the Bell Foundry
Bring The Original Whitechapel Bell Foundry® Bells Home
Take Action – Lodge your support to the Secretary of State
Bringing back the Bells and Local Employment Opportunities for Whitechapel
The current owners, Raycliff, in partnership with AB Fine Art Foundry and the Westley Group (licensed by Whitechapel Bell Foundry Ltd, (WBF Ltd), have agreed to reinstate a bell and art foundry in the space of the former historic Foundry. This will focus on the production of smaller bells, including hand bells, using the same innovative casting techniques for the tower bells, but without creating the environmental issues that would arise from a full-scale bell foundry in Central London.
In addition to the reinstated foundry, the listed building will be lightly refurbished and reoccupied to accommodate a public café allowing (for the first time) public access to the historic building and offering a place to engage with the historic craft. Display spaces will be created throughout the public spaces using bells and other equipment from the original Bell Foundry. In addition, learning spaces to be constructed will enable new generations to learn about bell founding and the significance of the former Whitechapel Bell Foundry site.
The site on which new construction will take place, which is not listed or historically significant and is separate and apart from the historic Foundry, comprises a building from the 1980s and a vacant car park. This site will accommodate a hotel, public restaurant and bar spaces and additional workspace. Part of this site already has planning permission for a hotel mixed use scheme.
The scheme will have Ultrfast broadband installed, which as defined by BroadbandDeals means "speeds in excess of 250Mbps". What's more, all residents & businesses will be able to use it at no cost.
The development scheme will generate over 180 jobs, including local employment.
The application was called in by the Government. Despite support from the Government’s statutory bodies, Historic England and the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, Raycliff’s plans, therefore, and the continued viability of the original Foundry building, remain in peril.
Please fill in the form to urge the Secretary of State to approve the plans. We will send it to the planning inspector and add your name to our petition in support of the scheme.
Bringing back the history
Whitechapel Bell Foundry Ltd ceased manufacturing at the Whitechapel Road site in 2017. This was sadly inevitable with the decline in the demand for bells, along with excessive ongoing costs and a lack of funds to maintain and service the listed building and environmental constraints. The building was sold, and the company relocated to protect its future. Whitechapel Bell Foundry® bells are still being produced today.
Whitechapel Bells are still being produced today by foundries in the UK licensed by WBF Ltd. The famous company that made Big Ben and the original Liberty Bell still own all the pattern equipment and tooling for the manufacturing of tower bells, musical handbells, clock bells and small presentation bells as well as the company’s extensive archives. Its famous bells continue to be made through the Westley Group in Stoke on Trent, Bells of Whitechapel Ltd in Bromley, Kent and Whitechapel Handbells in Dartford, Kent.
Raycliff, in partnership with the Westley Group, plan to bring back the founding and production of the famous Whitechapel Bell Foundry® bells in conjunction with their other sites, with displays and interpretive spaces as part of a unique mixed-use refurbishment of the historic listed building. The traditional and proprietary art of WBF Ltd bell making will return, now with public access. Raycliff and the Westley Group will work alongside AB Fine Art, an internationally renowned art foundry already based in Tower Hamlets. Together they will form a unique combination, breathing exciting new life into the foundry once again. But unlike before, the public will also be able to witness the making process inside the characterful industrial spaces.
What are the benefits for the local community?
Once refurbished, the listed building will include a café, display and interpretative spaces, learning spaces, and workspaces for local artists and the creative industries. More specifically this refurbishment project means:
- Reintroduction of a range of smaller Whitechapel Bell Foundry® bells previously produced on site and modernised to meet 21st Century standards.
- A shop where tourists can buy the famous bells.
- Viewing area from which visitors can view the bells being cast.
- School visits to learn the history of the building and the famous company.
- This will be delivered and managed by the local, AB Fine Art Foundry and the 200 year old Westley Group.
- Artists and creative workshops. To reinforce the ongoing industrial culture on site there will be a number of artist and maker workshops occupied by tenants in the creative arts.
- Workspace for small creative businesses at below-market rents – 80% of the floorspace in the listed building will be used by creative organisations, which will include founding and other small creative sector businesses, artists and makers.
- Workspace preference will be given to local people in Whitechapel – 45% of the workspaces and foundry spaces in the listed building (excluding the café) will be affordable.
All of these benefits are tied into a s106 legal agreement, meaning that Raycliff will be legally bound to deliver them.
What are the benefits for the local culture?
Education programmes are inherent in the existing operations of the AB Fine Art Foundry and the Westley Group. There is a strong commitment from these parties to devise suitable learning opportunities for members of the public, other professionals and school children on site.
AB Fine Art regularly host lectures and tours of their existing foundry in Tower Hamlets. They will continue this and expand on these operations at The Bell Foundry. The Westley Group also assisted in establishing the newly opened and only dedicated teaching foundry at the University of Wolverhampton. They aspire to use the space within the foundry to enhance these programmes.
The refurbished listed building will include space for school children to watch historic films and learn about the Whitechapel Bell Foundry plus other artistic/manufacturing techniques. A programme of events will be developed that will engage with the history of the site, current modern founding techniques and the activities of the resident artists.
What are the benefits for our local economy?
There were 24 staff employed by Whitechapel Bell Foundry Ltd prior to its ceasing manufacture at the Whitechapel Road site. Of these, a handful were directly employed in the moulding and casting of bells, and only two employees lived locally. Most of the staff with specialist skills are now employed elsewhere in the bell industry, with many working closer to their homes, whilst seven members of the staff chose to retire.
The new proposal will generate 180 new jobs, including skilled labour jobs alongside service sector jobs associated with the hotel. Raycliff are fully committed to delivering local employment during construction. Raycliff are also looking at how apprenticeships in the bell industry can be developed to ensure the traditions and specialist skill set prospers and can be passed on to the next generation. These commitments are enshrined in the s106 legal agreement for the site.
What are the plans for the new café?
The new café will be accessible and open for public access throughout the daytime. The spaces will be only very lightly refurbished to retain the character and atmosphere of the bell foundry. A new glazed screen will separate the cafe space from the working foundry – an opportunity to watch the activity in the foundry whilst having a coffee or eating lunch (ensuring safety and comfort from the sometimes hazardous activity within).
The cafe will also have an interpretation space with archive material and authentic mouldings from the original Bell Foundry. The café will be available for events in the evenings. It is envisaged that there will be a mix of private events alongside other public events accessible to all.
What are the plans for the interpretation spaces?
The café and other public areas on the ground floor in the Historic Foundry will act as a living interpretation space, enhanced through the display of loose equipment such as dies, cast iron copes and moulds and decorative presses. These will be placed back on site to ensure the building’s important history and its character can be appreciated by new generations. We are taking advice from historic building consultants on the best way to approach this.
The family that previously ran the site (for over 100 years) have generously offered to allow some of historic items from the old shop front, which remain in their possession, to be returned to the site, including artefacts, photos and plans.
As part of the interpretive story, the large casting pit within the Old Foundry will be opened up so that visitors will be able to look down into the ground and see the space where the original Liberty Bell was cast.
Public access to the Foundry restored
Most of the areas of the old Foundry will be free to visit during normal working hours. A strategy is being developed for the interpretation and �?curation’ of the historic and atmospheric interiors without eroding their character.
A foundry shop will be located in the front of the Historic Foundry building. The shop will sell the famous Whitechapel Bell Foundry® bells. It will also provide the opportunity to sell other works created on site within the foundry, including art works made by AB Fine Art and the wider resident artistic community.
What are the main proposed changes to the Old Foundry?
In order to make the restored building safe and accessible for the public and workers, the following changes are proposed:
- The main external change is focused on a new stair core in the Old Stables/Hayloft, which was heavily adapted in the 1960s. This will significantly aid the current poor circulation and facilitate disabled access to the upper storeys. The impact on the exterior is imperceptible.
- The original configuration of the Old Foundry will be reinstated. A mould-drying kiln that was added in the 1960s will be removed to facilitate a more functional area for the reinstated foundry use.
- A glazed screen will be inserted between the foundry and café area to facilitate public engagement.
- A non-original mezzanine within the Carpenters Loft within the Old Foundry will be adapted so it can be put to better use.
- Modern partitions and other detracting elements will be removed across the Front Range and Foundry spaces.
- The roof across the whole Historic Foundry will be repaired and sensitively adapted keeping the original and unique profile.
- An entrance that has been closed for many years will be opened up to the public with direct access into the historic foundry spaces. This will also create a more active frontage and improve the street scene along Plumbers Row.
- The buildings and frontage to Whitechapel Road will be lightly refurbished.
- All existing redundant services throughout building will be removed.
Where is the new hotel going?
To the rear of the original listed building are an unlisted and architecturally undistinguished extension and a car park/servicing area. Historic England have confirmed these are of no historical significance. They are unnecessary to the functioning of the refurbished Foundry and will be regenerated to accommodate:
- A new 103 room quality hotel to provide accommodation for visitors and tourists to the Whitechapel area.
- This will encourage visitors to stay in the area and spend money in local shops, boosting the wider local economy.
- A new restaurant and bars at ground floor with strict operational and management to be imposed so there is no impact on the neighbourhood.
- These will be informally organised and accessible to anyone, not just hotel visitors. It will also provide a space where anyone in the community can socialise and/or have informal business meetings or work independently on a laptop.
The Whitechapel Bell Foundry project is being developed by RAYCLIFF WHITECHAPEL LLP, Company number OC417542, Registered office address: C/O Edwards Veeder (UK) Limited Ground Floor, 4 Broadgate, Broadway Business Park, Chadderton, Oldham, England, OL9 9XA.
