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Bell foundries

“The world’s most famous

Whitechapel’s “” in the tower of the bell foundry” , By Brian Swager

he Bell Foundry in Lon- have been made by the foundry since 1570, Raycliff, an American venture capitalist T don, , is a cultural heritage and on the current site on the corner of firm, purchased the foundry. Raycliff Whi- asset of international significance. However, and Plumber’s Row since techapel LLP has submitted a planning it is at grave risk of being renovated into a the 1740s. The application that seeks to secure a change of “bell-themed” boutique hotel and café rather adopted its current name in 1968, but the use and development of the site as a 100-bed than being retained as a fully working bell same purpose-built foundry has been occu- hotel, private members’ club, restaurant, foundry on the site that was developed for pied by generations of bell makers—Phelps bar, café, and shop, with desk-sharing work- this purpose in the 1740s. If this is allowed to and Lester, Lester and Pack, Pack and spaces for hire. The on-site foundry outlined happen, the bell founding skills on this his- Chapman, Chapman and Mears, Mears and in the Raycliff Whitechapel proposal has toric site in the will be Stainbank, Alfred Lawson, and since 1904 been reduced dramatically, and all that lost to the nation forever, bringing an end to several generations of the Hughes family— remains is a token activity—a small display a continuous history of bell covering with knowledge passing from one generation workshop and studio for casting or finishing the last 450 years. This is a matter of national to the next, each of them forming a part of within a restaurant and café. and international importance. this extraordinary history. In November 2019, the Tower Ham- For the last few years I have read Located in the Borough of Tower Ham- lets Development Committee approved reports of the imminent closure of the lets in the heart of London, the renowned the developer’s planning application. In firm. However, a Public Inquiry called by foundry is Britain’s oldest single-purpose December of last year, in response to the Secretary of State has been scheduled industrial building. The cast here are public pressure, the Secretary of State, for October 2020, offering real hope of the voices of nations: they mark the world’s Robert Jenrick, issued a holding declara- saving the foundry. The UK Historic Build- celebrations and sorrows, representing tion preventing Tower Hamlets Council ing Preservation Trust—whose founding principles of emancipation, freedom of from proceeding and granting planning patron was HRH The Prince of Wales and expression, and justice. Both Big Ben and permission. The planning application has is now called Re-Form Heritage—launched the were cast on this site. now been “called in,” and a public inquiry a joint appeal with the Factum Foundation In June 2017, the historic Whitechapel will be held on October 6, 2020, lasting for for Digital Technology in Conservation to Foundry was sold to a developer, and the about one week. This gives the opportunity save the foundry. The many objectors, of use of these Grade 2* buildings for the for a fair and proper hearing with legal which there were nearly 26,000, believe making of bells ceased. Grade 2* is a clas- representation. strongly that the site of the Whitechapel sification of a UK building that is “partic- Bell Foundry should be a place of pilgrim- ularly important . . . of more than special A foundry of worldwide stature age, preserving this important heritage. I interest.” Although the foundry had been The foundry in Whitechapel has supplied contacted Adam Lowe, director of the Fac- listed for its historic connection to the East a striking array of bells to churches around tum Foundation, who has supplied much of End’s industrial past and despite campaigns the globe as well as a number of significant the information for this article. in the national press and emotional public and well-known installations. In addition to Whitechapel bells hold an enviable place outcry, it was shut down by the owners who and Big Ben, the foundry in English history. The first recorded bells wanted to take advantage of the enormous has produced several other bells of national to have been cast in London were made in increase in its financial value by selling it for significance. Near the White House, in Whitechapel in the thirteenth century; bells conversion into a hotel. the Old Post Office and in Bell foundries

The Cellini Bell was recorded by Factum Foundation’s expert, using close-range photo- 3-D rendering of the Cellini Bell (photo cour- grammetry, at the British Museum in 2018 (photo credit: Otto Lowe) tesy: Factum Foundation for the British Museum)

Washington, D.C., is a ring of ten pealing least sixty-two sets to the . specializing in the production of bells and bells, used for , called “The Several of their chimes were later enlarged works of art, together with a 3-D and acous- Bells of Congress.” Cast by Whitechapel in to . Fifty-eight of the seventy-four tic archive and research center that will 1976, the bells range in weight from 581 to bells in the Laura Spelman Rockefeller conduct bell recording, undertake research 2,953 pounds. Another Whitechapel ring of Memorial in the into historic casting methods, and develop ten bells hangs in the tower of the Wash- in New York City were recast or replaced by machine learning predictive software to ington National Cathedral. Cast by Mears Whitechapel in 2003. It is no wonder that assist in the preservation of bells around the & Stainbank in 1962, the bells range from their website proclaimed: “the world’s most country and beyond. 608 to 3,588 pounds. famous bell foundry.” There is a clear need for such services. Commissioned and cast for the 2012 The business owner Alan Hughes cited Maintaining and re-making bells for London Olympic Games, the financial difficulties with maintenance of churches is a relatively contained market in is the largest harmonically-tuned bell in the the building in the current economic cli- Europe and North America, but it serves an world. It was designed by Whitechapel, but mate. “The future of bell making is bright” important social and preservation function. due to its excessive size (22.91 tons, 10.95 maintains Adam Lowe of the Factum By contrast, there is a significant market feet in diameter), it was cast at the Royal Foundation. He notes that churches are no for commemorative bells of all sizes and for Eijsbouts foundry in the Netherlands. It longer the main commissioners of bells, yet bell-related artist projects. Internationally, bears an inscription taken from Shake- the market is diversifying, and new oppor- Russia, Africa, and South America have been speare’s play The Tempest: “Be not afeard; tunities exist around the world. Likewise, identified as expanding markets for church the isle is full of noises.” technological advances must be applied bells, while and India have a large and In celebration of the 1976 United States that would bring the foundry into the twen- growing demand for bells and . Bicentennial, the people of Britain gifted ty-first century. Technology has the potential to revitalize the people of this country with a 12,446- bell making in Whitechapel. Three-dimen- pound Bicentennial Bell cast by Whitecha- A viable future for the foundry sional recording, digital modeling, machine pel. It was dedicated by Her Majesty Queen Re-Form Heritage and the Factum learning analysis, and the use of software to Elizabeth II who shared her gratitude to Foundation have led the opposition to predict and control shrinkage, flow, thick- America’s Founding Fathers for teaching the redevelopment plans. Together with ness, and shape are all part of this future. the British “to respect the right of others to the local community, former employees of The new foundry will also be eco-friendly, govern themselves in their own way.” the bell foundry, the Victoria and Albert filtering emissions and recycling heat. As Various chimes and rings made in Whi- Museum, B-Made (Bartlett has been demonstrated by Peter Scully, techapel were sent to places near and far & Design Exchange—a multidisciplinary there are no issues with casting bells safely beyond England’s borders including Wales, center that aims to foster the next gener- in London in a workshop that meets health Scotland, Zimbabwe, South Africa, India, ation of thinkers, designers, and makers), and safety and the most challenging sus- Trinidad, Malawi, Sudan, and Jamaica. No University College London, the East Lon- tainability legislation: in December 2019, less than twenty-three sets of Whitechapel don Mosque, artists, and others, they are Scully and assistants at B-Made cast three bells made their way to Canada, forty-four proposing a viable future answering local bells in front of a group of journalists and to Australia, four to New Zealand, and at and international needs: a working foundry supporters using ceramic shell investment Bell foundries

molding and a new efficient electric kiln; glare from the object. The two models were the result was an unmitigated success. then combined, resulting in a 3-D model with 91.5 million polygons. This was then Historical research leading to 3-D printed and silver plated, resulting in technological advances an exact facsimile that is now on permanent The scene of bell making in Andrei - display at Strawberry Hill House. kovsky’s masterpiece filmAndrei Rublev It was during the process of recording depicts a human skill that has been passed the Cellini Bell in 2018, while Factum down in Europe, almost unchanged, from Foundation was also working to save the generation to generation since the Middle bell foundry at Whitechapel, that the role Ages. In China its history is much longer, of machine-learning software and new going back to around 2000 BCE. There is a casting technologies for the production of profound need to document this history and Bell at the Whitechapel Bell Foundry in 2016 (pho- bells became apparent. This was then put to preserve and archive the achievements of to credit: John Claridge) to the test in December 2019 at B-Made in this proud technological tradition within the Here East, a media complex located in the UK and beyond. To this end, the partnership A 3-D print will be made so that after Olympic Park in East London, not far from between Re-Form Heritage and the Factum molding and casting, the bell will be the the Whitechapel Bell Foundry. Foundation will conduct extensive research exact shape and size of the original bell. into historic casting technologies The casting is being done at Pangolin The proposed Elizabeth bell and will establish an archive focused on the Foundry in Gloucestershire using a mix of Many of the great moments in England’s history of bell founding, to include acoustic bell with a high content. Arthur history since 1570 have been celebrated by recordings and high-resolution 3-D models Prior is undertaking the digital analysis of the tolling of bells founded at Whitechapel. in addition to more traditional modes of doc- the data in Nuremberg, and Nigel Taylor is The coalition proposes that the nation umentation. This research and the accom- advising on the production of the , the should now celebrate the reign of Elizabeth panying archive will form a key resource temperature of the casting, and the speed II, their longest serving monarch, with the as the revitalized bell foundry works on the of cooling. It is hoped that the new version founding of a bell. Once the London bell preservation, monitoring, and analysis of of the Salamanca bell will sound similar to foundry has been established as a trust and historic bells. the original, even before fine tuning. has reacquired the foundry at Whitechapel, Historical documentation will also inform A further digitization project that has the first commission the trust hopes to research into the production of new bells. In shown the possibilities of digital recording carry out is the founding of the Elizabeth February 2020, an early seventeenth-cen- of bells is the scanning of the so-called “Cel- Bell, a new quarter bell for the Elizabeth tury from near Salamanca, lini Bell.” This 13-centimeter-high silver Tower at the Palace of Westminster, of Spain, was 3-D recorded by a team of bell was made ca. 1550 by the Nuremberg which Big Ben is the great bell. The bell experts from Factum Foundation. The goldsmith Wenzel Jamnitzer, although for will be funded by public donations and will technique used was photogrammetry, which a long it was attributed to the Italian require the support of the royal family and involves taking multiple photos of an object Renaissance master Benvenuto Cellini. the government. (often hundreds or even thousands) that can Once an important item in Horace Walpo- then be converted into a 3-D digital model le’s collection at Strawberry Hill House, it A viable future using software. The Salamanca recording now forms part of the Rothschild Bequest The coalition proposal is supported by and others like it will form the basis of an at the British Museum. The bell is covered the local community, the East London archive of photogrammetric recordings of with intricate relief-work that includes Mosque, politicians at local and national different bells, facilitating a study of the flowers, lizards, and insects, many of which levels, the Victoria and Albert Museum, relationship between the composition of were cast directly from life. and the Bartlett School of Architecture; , shape, and sound. Building on The Cellini Bell was recorded by Fac- by heritage bodies including the Society this information, it will soon be possible for tum Foundation using close-range pho- for the Protection of Ancient Buildings bell making to enter a new phase, in which togrammetry, a task that posed particular (SPAB), Spitalfields Trust, and SAVE Brit- mathematical modeling and new methods challenges specific to this complex object. ain’s Heritage; by the blog Spitalfields Life of precision fabrication are combined with The level of detail on the bell meant that (which has published extensively on the his- the knowledge and experience of traditional it required many photographs, taken with tory of the foundry and on this campaign), bell founders. a great degree of precision, and in order by architectural historian Dan Cruick- Following the 3-D recording of the bell, to accurately record the partially reflective shank, former Royal Academy Chief Exec- a research project is now underway to carry surface of the silver, it was necessary to utive Charles Saumarez Smith, academics, out data processing using MagmaSoft, an conduct the recording twice, once using makers, musicians, and artists including advanced software that can predict flow the standard lenses employed by Factum Michael Nyman, Antony Gormley, Anish and shrinkage. Once the analysis has been for photogrammetry of this sort, and once Kapoor, and Grayson Perry. While this is carried out, the data will be distorted. employing cross-polarization to reduce the a local issue it has global implications, and Bell foundries

there have been offers of support from dedicated to digital mediation and physical make a donation in any amount, if desired. China, Australia, and the United States. transformation in contemporary art, and the Further information is available on “Spit- Mainstream and social media have shown a materialization of diverse types of object. alfield’s life,” the blog devoted to life in the huge interest, and articles have appeared in Activities include building digital archives East End: spitalfieldslife.com Financial , The Daily Mail, Evening for preservation and further study, creating Visit Factum Foundation’s online page Standard, The Guardian, and The Econo- and organizing touring exhibitions, setting and see the development of the fight to keep mist, among other publications. up training centers to enable colleagues the site as a working bell foundry: factum- Speaking of his enthusiasm for the across the world to record their own cultural foundation.org/ind/180/the-resurrection-of- Re-Form/Factum proposals, former Tory heritage, and producing exact facsimiles as the-whitechapel-bell-foundry. leadership candidate and mayoral candi- part of a new approach to conservation, We are also looking for people in historic date Rory Stewart said: restoration, and display. Factum Arte works and preservation societies who are inter- with foundries in Spain, England, and ested in learning how new technology can All of this, in one of the most interesting parts of our city . . . . An imaginative plan- Greece, casting many alloys and developing help create an archive of various types of ner—in fact anyone with any imagination innovative connections between digital information that will help revitalize interest seeing the possibilities here—could not pos- input and physical output. in bells, their production, and their digital sibly turn this down. This is a challenge of courage, it’s a challenge of joyful imagination. and physical restoration. Support is needed Call to action to build a network that will allow these For those interested in supporting this noble objects to be valued and appreciated. About Factum Foundation initiative, Adam Lowe suggests a number Write to: [email protected]. ■ Factum Foundation for Digital Tech- of ways to be of assistance. nology in Conservation is a not-for-profit Visit and share the Save the Whitechapel Brian Swager, DM, is an organist, caril- organization founded in Madrid to doc- Bell Foundry website with others: savethe- lonneur, and harpist in San Francisco, Cali- ument, monitor, study, recreate, and whitechapelbellfoundry.com. Here you can fornia. He is director of music at Immanuel disseminate the world’s cultural heritage. sign a petition to register support. By click- Lutheran Church in San Jose. He serves It works alongside its sister company, Fac- ing on “Donate,” one will be redirected to as contributing editor for carillon topics to tum Arte, a multi-disciplinary workshop Re-Form’s website where it is possible to The Diapason.

© Copyrighted Scranton Gillette Communications, Inc. DP_0920_01 Reprinted with permission from The Diapason, September 2020