Place    From 1570 

Whitechapel Bell Foundry

Categories: Commerce, Engineering

This foundry is the oldest manufacturing company in the UK and is still making bells at 32/34 Whitechapel Road. Probably their most famous creation is Big Ben (we thank Alice, a member of a children's history club, for providing this excellent link). The history pages of our picture source are extensive (but, 2022, defunct).

2016: Sadly we learnt that this foundry is due to close May 2017 and the building will be sold. UCL published a good history of the foundry. Save the Foundry!!

2021: The long campaign to save the Foundry is over - it will become a bell-themed boutique hotel.

This section lists the memorials where the subject on this page is commemorated:
Whitechapel Bell Foundry

Commemorated ati

Borough Market Bell (1)

The Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall carried out the first ringing...

Read More

Mile End mural

Murals are often rather fun puzzles so do have a go identifying what you can ...

Read More

St Mary Matfelon

Our picture comes from Google satellite view and shows, better than can be se...

Read More

This section lists the memorials created by the subject on this page:
Whitechapel Bell Foundry

Creations i

2012 Olympics Bell

The quotation, from Shakespeare's 'The Tempest', was spoken by Kenneth Branag...

Read More

Other Subjects

Julian Metcalfe

Julian Metcalfe

Co-founder of Pret a Manger with Sinclair Beecham, who he met at the Polytechnic of Central London.  Also founded the itsu chain of Asian-inspired restaurants.

Person, Commerce, Food & Drink

1 memorial
Kops Brewery

Kops Brewery

The first brewer of non-alcoholic beer in the United Kingdom. This photograph was taken in 1900. From the 1900 "Fulham old and new": "Between Town Mead Road and the river, a little eastwards of Wa...

Building, Commerce, Food & Drink

1 memorial
The Three Cripples public house

The Three Cripples public house

Pub in Charles Dickens's "Oliver Twist".

Fiction, Commerce, Fictional, Food & Drink

1 memorial
British Telecom

British Telecom

A number of privately owned telegraph companies operated in Britain from 1846 onwards. In 1868 these all came under the control of the newly formed GPO (General Post Office). With the invention of ...

Group, Commerce

2 memorials