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There are many pages on this website devoted to the history of the Foundry, of
the bells we've cast down the century, and of the Whitechapel area. New pages
are being added all the time and, whenever they are, a link to that page will be
added on this one.
500 YEARS OF HISTORY
An entry in the Guinness Book of Records lists the Whitechapel
Bell Foundry as Britain's oldest manufacturing company, having been established
in 1570 (during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I) and being in continuous
business since that date. In 1970, therefore, the Foundry celebrated its
quatercentenary....
MASTER FOUNDERS
Over the centuries, many people have been Master Founder in
Aldgate and at Whitechapel. Biographies of some of them can be found on this site,
as can a guide on how to identify the bells each cast....
IN THE TIME OF THE RIPPER
Being as old as it is, means the foundry was here in 1888, when Jack the Ripper
stalked the streets of Whitechapel....
BIG BEN
One of the most famous bells in the world, Big Ben is the biggest bell ever cast at
Whitechapel, and the gauge used to make the mould for the bell still hangs on the wall
of the foundry moulding shop to this day....
THE LIBERTY BELL
Another of the world's most famous bells, the Liberty Bell - which is on permanent
display in Philadelphia - was cast at Whitechapel over 250 years ago....
THE FOUNDRY AT WAR
Bells may be what the Foundry usually produces, but in time of war all that changes....
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