Monday, 13 August 2012

Whitechapel Bell Foundry - last of its type in the east End of London

Gaffers office looking south-westGaffers Office looking South-eaCourtyard of the 17th-century Artichoke inn, core of Whitechapel bell FoundryBell Foundry in former Artichoke Inn. This lead water tank was from its founding in 17th centuryMoulds drying in an ovenMould ingredients, loam, sand, manure and horsehair
Moulds outers ready to goMoulding a big bell coreMoaulding big bell cores with bricksbell wheel, of oak spokes, steam-bent ash circle and (nowadays) ply runnersRepairing 15th-century bellsHow a bell hangs in cast steel frame and wooden wheel
Foundry, hearth frunace for handbells near and larger furnaces for big bells behindJust-tuned bell with machined insideTuning a bell by machining the insideStrobes to tune bellsPlaque on the former 17th-century Artichoke Inn, now Whitechapel Bell Foundry

Whitechapel Bell Foundry, a set on Flickr.

The Whitechapel Bell Foundry (Britain's oldest manufacturing company) is the last example in the area of a once typical industry. The City of London pushed out its smellier industries to the east, as the prevailing winds were form the west. Brass-founding, gun-founding and bell-founding all congregated in the Aldgate and Whitechapel area. The Whitechapel Bell Foundry is one of two bell foundries working in Britain. it employs about 30 people and hangs bells as well as cast and tunes them. Click on thumbnails above for details of the process  ,  for an archaeological investigation of  "copper-alloy founding" on a nearby site see Sygrave, pages 77-98 on http://www.lamas.org.uk/archives/transactions-archive/Vol%2056.pdf THE FOUNDRY ENTRANCE 
AT 34 WHITECHAPEL RD.

more of the history and technique from their website  http://www.whitechapelbellfoundry.co.uk/


View Larger Map

No comments:

Post a Comment