Building    From 1684 

Bagley's Foundry / The Foundery

Categories: Engineering, Religion

There was a gun-manufacturing foundry at Windmill Hill, now Tabernacle Street EC2, until an explosion in 1716. Captured French guns were being melted and the liquid metal was poured into moulds which were (unintentionally) damp. The moulds exploded, killing Mathew Bagley, the founder, and 16 others, and injuring several important visitors. 

In 1739 John Wesley took a lease on the building, presumably repaired, and, as the Foundery, it became his first London chapel and the first Methodist Book-room. He had the City Road Chapel built and moved his congregation there in 1779. The Foundery pulpit and some pews can now be seen in the City Road Wesley Chapel.

Londonist has a good post about this building and reports, 2015, that the EC2 plaque has gone missing.

This section lists the memorials where the subject on this page is commemorated:
Bagley's Foundry / The Foundery

Commemorated ati

Royal Arsenal Brass Foundry

The Royal Brass Foundry, 1717, attributed to Sir John Vanbrugh. Following an...

Read More

The Foundery

Note: other sources seem agreed that Susannah died on the 23rd not the 30th o...

Read More

Other Subjects

Jan Verbruggen

Jan Verbruggen

Master gun-founder and artist. Born at Enkhuizen in the Netherlands. After an unsuccessful attempt in 1763, he and his son Pieter were appointed master founders at the Royal Arsenal Woolwich in 177...

Person, Art, Engineering, Netherlands

2 memorials
Tilbury Douglas Construction Limited / Interserve

Tilbury Douglas Construction Limited / Interserve

The picture source gives the history of the company, which changed its name in 2007.

Group, Engineering

1 memorial
Commissioners of Sewers, Holborn and Finsbury Divisions

Commissioners of Sewers, Holborn and Finsbury Divisions

We don't want to go very deeply into this subject but according to this report: Holborn and Finsbury Divisions of Sewers. Report of the Surveyor [J. Roe] to the Court held 27th January 1843 ... By ...

Group, Engineering

2 memorials
Alliott Verdon Roe

Alliott Verdon Roe

Aircraft designer and manufacturer. Born Edwin Alliott Verdon Roe at Patricroft, Manchester. He was inspired by the Wright brothers to devote himself to powered flight. In 1907 he built a biplane a...

Person, Aviation, Engineering

3 memorials
John G. Morley

John G. Morley

Succeeded Lewis Angell as Borough Engineer for West Ham Council. Held the post in 1905.

Person, Engineering

1 memorial