With the Open Day rushing towards us, the preceeding weeks saw an ever increasing - and
successful - effort to get the new Foundry store ready in time for the event. This involved
not only the complete refurbishment of what had previously been an office in the historic,
grade II listed building which is the home of Whitechapel Bell Foundry but also a significant
expansion in the range of merchandising and souvenir items we will be able to offer
visitors to the Foundry all year round. Details and pictures of these items will be
added to the merchandising section of this website shortly.
The Open Day (details of the 2001 event can be found here) was on Thursday 10th August 2000 and attracted hundreds of people,
including some from as far afield as America and Japan. For a whole day, the Foundry
ceased production and staff found themselves acting as tour guides and answering many
questions from inquisitive visitors, a new and (mostly) enjoyable experience for most
of them. Held as a fund-raiser for ChildLine, money
raised during the Open Day enabled the Foundry to make a substantial donation to the
famous children's charity.
For helping to make the day what it was, Whitechapel Bell Foundry would like to thank
Handbell Ringers of Great Britain for their display and demonstration of handbell ringing,
Lichfield Mobile Belfry Ringers for the free loan of the mobile belfry; Thompson, Heath &
Bond (Northern) Ltd., for sponsoring the additional insurance required for the day; the
staff of Whitechapel Bell Foundry Ltd.; and, last but not least,
everyone who visited the Foundry that day. Thank you one and all.
News Archive:
Masham and the Millennium
