The group hoping to re-open the East London foundry, which began operating in 1570, called the sight painful when they posted the sad image of the desecration on social media this month.
If Robert Jenrick doesn’t act now, the Whitechapel Bell Foundry will be lost for good
A priceless piece of our heritage is on the brink of being turned into a hotel. Why won’t our public institutions protect it?
The bell tolls: the Jubilee memorial bells being forged at the Whitechapel Bell Foundry
Credit: Martin Pope
The Whitechapel Bell Foundry is a crucial part of our history – as important to America as it is to Britain. It was here that the Liberty Bell was cast, as well as Big Ben. The foundry has existed since 1570 (and in its Whitechapel Road premises since 1744) and, as well as those two notable bells, has been in demand by the nation’s churches – Westminster Abbey, St Paul’s, Guildford and Canterbury.