Whitechapel Bell Foundry, 32-34 Whitechapel Road, 2 Fieldgate Street and workshops to the rear

The Whitechapel Bell Foundry comprises a complex of buildings spanning from the mid-18th century to the late 20th century. The principal structures are: a front residential range at numbers 32-34 Whitechapel Road, built for Thomas Lester in the mid-1740s and extended in the early 19th century; number 2 Fieldgate Street, also probably built for Lester in the 1740s, with its rear (west) wall rebuilt and interior reconfigured in the 1960s and later; a single storey range behind number 2 Fieldgate Street probably dating from the mid-18th century, attached to a three storey stables and workshop range of around 1840 with 20th century modifications; cottages of 1820 modified and extended in the late 19th and 20th centuries; and foundry outbuildings to the west and south of the front range dating from the mid-18th and 19th centuries, modified in the 20th century. Attached to the rear of the south outbuilding is a workshop extension of 1979-81, which is excluded from the listing.

Numbers 32-34 Whitechapel Road and Number 2 Fieldgate Street

Materials

The buildings are constructed of dark purple-red brick and yellow stock brick, with tile roof coverings.

Plan

Numbers 32-34 Whitechapel Road have three axial rooms heated from the rear and are one room deep, with a stair hall between the central and western room. The early 19th century extension to the rear of number 32 has a two room plan with a central hall bay. Number 2 Fieldgate Street has been reconfigured in the mid-20th century, but is similarly one room deep with the stair on the south side.

Exterior

Numbers 32-34 Whitechapel Road present a seven window-bay range of three storeys with an attic to the west and cellar to the centre. The roof is hipped at the east end and gabled to the west where it meets the adjoining property; there are small dormers to the front and rear. The front (north) elevation has variable bond, but is generally Flemish. At ground floor level, the fifth bay from the east contains a Doric doorcase, flanked by two windows with external panelled shutters with ironmongery. All windows on this elevation are mid-18th century, slightly-recessed six-over-six timber sashes with glazing bars beneath straight brick heads. The doorcase has moulded pilasters, cornice and pediment. A glazed oblong fanlight is flanked by triglyph and guttae motifs. The door has six panels, the top two being smaller, divided by a central muntin; some of the ironmongery may be mid-18th century. The door is approached by two stone steps, surmounted by replica railings and a central gate. 18th century boot-scrapers to either side of the steps are embedded in lead.

At the east end of the building is a two-bay shop front, probably of the early 19th century, with a central recessed panelled and glazed door approached by steps. The panelled stallrisers, flanked by moulded pilasters, support recessed arched windows with glazing bars. The words 'CHURCH BELL FOUNDRY' are painted on the fascia beneath the moulded cornice, with 'ESTABLISHED AD 1570' in the blind arched panel above the door. The fenestration on the first and second floors is uniformly spaced, the first floor windows being a little taller than those on the second. Above the top storey is a plat band beneath the yellow stock brick parapet with flat coping.

The rear (south) elevation is dominated by the two storey early 19th century extension with a recessed entrance to the rear of number 32, accessed from the yard through a brick arch of the mid-20th century, with toilets to the south. The timber panelled door has top glazes. The extension, in yellow brick laid in Flemish bond, has horned three-over-three timber sash windows beneath straight heads to the ground and first floors; the windows appear to be late 19th century in date. The roof of the extension cannot be seen, but rising above are the two broad stacks of the front range, with some renewed pots. The blind east elevation is part-rendered at the base, the exposed bricks above laid in English bond; the plat band wraps around from the façade.

Number 2 Fieldgate Street is a three window-bay and three storey former house attached to the rear of number 34 Whitechapel Road, projecting forward onto Fieldgate Street. The front (east) elevation is of red-purple bricks, the south and west elevations of yellow stock brick, all laid in Flemish bond. On the ground floor at the south is a timber Gibbs door surround beneath a flat hood; the door has six panels, and a boot scraper is set in the wall to its right. The windows are near-flush, with moulded timber surrounds beneath straight red brick heads. The two ground floor windows and three to the first floor are horned six-over-six timber sashes and post-1840 in date. The second floor windows are smaller, six-light casements; above, the eaves have dentils. The roof is hipped to the south, the tall chimney in yellow brick rises at the north end, next to a prominent gable-end marking the division of property. The rear (west) elevation was rebuilt in the 1960s with renewed timber cladding.

Interior

Numbers 32-34 Whitechapel Road retain their plan form and historic fixtures and fittings of the 18th and 19th centuries. On the ground floor, the far east room is the shop entrance to the foundry; panelling beneath the shop windows appears contemporary, as do the wall-mounted cupboards to the right. A wooden hook projects from the middle of these cupboards; reams of brown paper are said to have been hung from here which could be fashioned into head-coverings for the foundry workers, shown in an illustration in the shop. A cabinet at the rear of the shop is of 1851. The central ground floor room, in use as an office, has wall panelling and a 19th century fireplace. Further west is the panelled stair hall; the walls are half-panelled and the door has its original ironmongery. The quarter-turn stair is mid-18th century and intact, with a landing to the front at each floor level lit by a sash window. The stair has a curtail stop at the ground floor, a ramped moulded handrail and open strings. The simply-moulded turned newels have flat caps; the balusters are turned and moulded. Beyond the hall, the western room (formerly the board room, then a dining room) and all three rooms on the first floor are fully panelled with simply moulded cornices and dado rails in places. There are four or six panel doors with moulded architraves. The windows have internal shutters, shutter boxes and panelled aprons. All rooms retain their chimney pieces, mostly hob grates with simple surrounds; all are of mid-18th century or early 19th century date and flanked by arched alcoves or cupboards with two-panel doors. In the central first floor room, there is a good apsidal niche cupboard with marble surround to the right of the chimney piece; it is probably early 19th century in date. The floorboards in general are wide, except where replaced. The third floor rooms are much simpler, without wall panelling or window shutters, but with simple chimney pieces to each room. The doors are four-panelled; all joinery on this floor is simply moulded. In the eastern room there is a two-panelled door to a corner cupboard; another cupboard has a round-headed strap hinge. The interconnecting door here has the ghost markings of a HL hinge, but all other hinges observed throughout are 19th century or later. From the top landing, a narrow winder stair leads to the attic where the room has no historic fixtures or fittings.

The ground floor of the rear extension had a service function; the room to the west of the rear entrance door was the kitchen with matchboard panelling to the lower walls and a timber surround to the range recess carved with the initials TM and the date 1820. The first floor rooms of the extension accommodate a modern kitchen and bathroom.

The interior of number 2 Fieldgate Street is accessed from the eastern room of number 34 at all floor levels. The interior was reconfigured in the 1960s and no historic interior fixtures and fittings are thought to survive. At the ground floor, the entrance door has modern ironmongery. The stairs are in their original position, but the banisters are replaced on the ground to first floor flight. The upper two storeys were not inspected.

The Foundry Buildings

There are workshops to the south and west of the yard at the rear of numbers 32-34 Whitechapel Road and buildings at the east side of the complex fronting Fieldgate Street and Plumbers Row ranging from the mid-18th to the mid-19th century in date, all modified in the late 19th and 20th centuries. The current process of bell-founding starts with making shaped inner (for the bell core) and outer (for the cope) moulds from loam and loam-bricks, which, after being baked, are clamped together to form the shape of the bell. Metal is heated in a furnace, poured into a crucible which is transported by a gantry crane and then poured into the bell mould. All of this takes place in the loam shop at the west of the site. After cooling, the outer mould is removed to reveal the newly-cast bell; after excess loam and metal is removed the bell is tuned to reach the required tone by using a lathe (tuning machine) that shaves off metal until the right sound is achieved. This takes place in the Montreal foundry (east of the loam shop) and tuning shop to the north. Hand bells are cast in sand and metal patterns, moulded conventionally and finished in the three-storey 1840 range fronting Plumbers Row. On the top floor of this building is the carpenter's shop where all formwork, including bell wheels, are made. This range incorporates the 19th century vehicular access to the foundry.

Materials

The foundry buildings are mostly yellow stock brick with slate and corrugated iron coverings to the roofs.

Plan

The east range is cranked and incorporates a pair of early 19th century cottages. The workshops to the rear of numbers 32-34 Whitechapel Road and number 2 Fieldgate Street are located on the south and west sides of a small yard with a flagstone surface.

Exterior

Attached to the south side of number 2 Fieldgate Street is a single storey red and yellow brick building of mid-18th century date, but rebuilt at the rear in the 1960s when the pantile covering to the roof was renewed. The east elevation faces Fieldgate Street. The lower part of the wall is rendered, set into which is a plaque (with a brick surround) incised with the words 'This is Baynes Street 1766'; this was dug up from nearby and set into the wall in the 1980s. To the right is a metal casement window. A sign above reads 'WHITECHAPEL BELL FOUNDRY'. To the south (left) is the 1840 blacksmiths and warehouse range of three bays and three storeys, with a recessed attic, built in yellow brick laid in Flemish bond. At the far left is a retained plank double-door for vehicular access in the 19th century (not in use in 2017), above which, and to the left of, is a timber jib crane of around 1840 beneath a bracketed canopy. The crane is thought to be one of the oldest timber cranes in London and was used, presumably, for taking in materials to the upper floors and lowering heavy items onto carts. The windows have elliptical-arched heads; three of the openings are blocked, and a fourth partly so. The other four openings have casement windows of the late 19th or 20th century. Attached to the south (left) of this range, cranked to follow the road line, is the pair of former cottages, again of three storeys with an attic, and with a hipped roof to the south. The round-arched door openings are blocked as are all of the elliptical-arched window openings to each floor; a ground floor window has an inserted casement, with a later window inset to the right of it.

The rear elevations of these structures are partly obscured by the foundry workshops to the west; where observed the construction and treatment are consistent with the front elevation. The roof coverings are slate.

The exterior elevations of the loam shop and Montreal foundry are mostly obscured; the east elevation of the loam shop was reconstructed in the 1960s in mixed yellow stock and red brick with straight yellow brick heads to the window openings. It is entered from the yard through doors on its east elevation, above which is a casement window and clock of unknown date. On the south side of the yard is the north elevation of the 1848 tuning shop, with double timber panelled and glazed entrance doors from the yard. Above the door is a casement window of 25 lights and to the right is another with 40 lights. There is a plain timber cornice above; the lantern roof has a corrugated asbestos and slate covering. Fixed to the yard surface, beside the tuning shop door, is a modern electric bell chime of 9 bells erected in 1981.

The south workshop of 1979-81 is excluded from the listing.

Interior

The single storey building attached to number 2 Fieldgate Street is used as part of the visitor attraction and has no historic fixtures and fittings. The ground floors of the warehouse, including the former blacksmiths shop, and the former cottages, are entirely remodelled to provide a fire escape and washroom facilities, and are partly open to the workshops to the west. A 20th century stair rises from the former vehicular entrance of the warehouse to the upper floors where hand-bell finishing and carpentry takes place. The external rear windows to the rear are blocked and there are no historic fixtures and fittings remaining, apart from a section of the forge chimney in one of the northern rooms. The roof structure comprises tie beams with raking shores, common rafters and ridge pieces, with some replaced members from when the structure was rebuilt in the late 20th century. The cottages evidently had rear wings, and the southernmost wing on the second floor was extended in the late 20th century into the Montreal foundry to the west. This is the carpenters shop; features of note are the memorial slate plaques attached to the remaining part of the cottage's party wall which record the names, dates of birth and death of some of the foundry's former employees. The hatches through which the bell-wheels were lowered from the carpenters shop remain.

The interiors of both the loam shop and Montreal foundry have painted brick walls. The loam shop has a late 20th century drying kiln (excluded from the listing) to the north and furnace (also excluded) to the south. At approximately the centre of the shop is the casting pit, thought to be the location of the original 18th century pit. It has 20th century brick lining and was covered with boiler plates at the time of the inspection in 2017. The roof covering is corrugated iron, supported on king post trusses, with two louvred lanterns to the roof. The Montreal foundry opens to the east and has a bespoke timber roof structure, of common rafters and substantial tie beams and upright posts. The 1848 tuning shop has a tuning machine and steel supports of 1922, and retains the original timber beam to the earlier (removed) tuning machine (all included in the listing). The remains of the line shafting to the steam engine attached to the east wall of the tuning shop are also included in the listing. The roof structure has common rafters and diagonal bracing.

The workshops contain 20th century equipment generic to small-scale manufacturing including travelling cranes/gantries, furnaces, lathes, planes and other wood-working equipment, mills and welders. All of these items, and other unspecified 20th century equipment not bespoke to the manufacture of bells, have limited heritage significance and are excluded from the listing. The tuning machine of 1976 in the Montreal Foundry, although specifically for the tuning of bells, is a late example of its type and is also excluded from the listing.

Subsidiary Features

The railings to the front of number 32 Whitechapel Road are 1950s replicas of the originals. The steps are concrete and of the same date as the railings but the boot scrapers are mid-18th century.