Meeting The Bell Boys

Hand Bells

On a sunny August afternoon, filled with anticipation, I wandered into the Whitechapel Bell Foundry, finally visiting after years of wanting to.  It has been one of those things in the back of my mind. "Go to the Whitechapel Foundry".

Walking into the workshop is a step back in time to the world of pre-mechinisaiton. 
A return to the world of the blacksmiths, ironworks, and master craftsmanship where things were hand made, individually item by item. In this case, the making and repair of bells. The foundry was established in 1570, however bell making in the area goes back further still to 1420.  Their history is worth reading here. Now, they're one of only two bell foundries remaining within the UK.

On the "tour" I simply wandered through the foundry from one worker to the next.  They each paused at their work and told me me what they did, the context of their task within the whole process of a particular job and just had a general chat.  It was on a very personal and individual level and the love and enthusiasm these men have for their job and the foundry is inspiring. Everyone does everything. It's not a factory line where people only do one thing.

The introductory DVD (aimed at kids and well explained) had covered the "how to make a bell 101" at the beginning, so on meeting everyone the conversations could go deeper and I was tuned in to the environment. It's a good introduction to set the scene, given not many people will have been in a foundry before.

The first thing I should say is that they're very busy. There are thousands of bells around the UK still in use, needing repairing and adjusting, and then there is the commission of new bells; the jubilee bells and olympic bell (cast in holland as a bigger factory area was required) are just two they've done of late.    I get the feeling this year has been particularly hectic.

Casting

The Whitechapel Bell foundries most famous bell is of course Big Ben, then the runner up to that the  Liberty bell in the USA.   What they are lesser known for is the sets of handbells, and tower bells, other commissions and quiet day to day work that has kept people employed there for hundreds of years.




The moulds for the bells are still made the good old medieval way, from clay, cow dung and horse hair, mixed to make "moulding loam". The moulding and casting process is quickly explained here, but go to the foundry and see it all there, is my recommendation.

Carillon in the Rain

The lovely Scotsman there told me that he never signs his work, but when they made the Olympic bell he did sign it underneath because he wanted to say he was in the olympics! I thought it was a shame the bells aren't signed.  "So historians will never know who made all but one of your bells. Your oeuvre will be a single bell. Sign your work!" He paused and said quietly "Never thought of that".


Tower bells, hand bells, small bells, enormous bells, carillons, full sets, sub sets, casts, rigging, pulleys, timber frames and stands litter the workshop. One worker (sorry, I didn't get names..!)  who showed me the handbells he was working on said he recognised them when they came in. He'd made them. They were in for repair where the leather attaches. Not the bell itself he hastily added. That (naturally) needed no repair. It was fine and will last for centuries.

Tuning a Bell by Laser

Here, a bell is being tuned by honing annular rings on the inside.  5 notes are tuned within the bell to produce the desired strike note, its tone and quality as well as pitch. Within the bell each note can be individually struck by demonstration but in its ringing lifetime, once in the bell tower, unseen and rarely handled, it's the strikenote that will sound.

Despite the fancy electronic tuning equipment, I asked "So ultimately, at the end of the day, what do you tune to?" Given the longevity of the craft, the answer was predictable and instant. "At the end of he day I tune manually. It has to sound right to the ear" And it did.

Back in the day, tuning was done by chipping off the edge of the bell rather than honing. I'm told you can flatten a little bit but there's not too much scope for error. It needs to be accurate.

Set of Tower Bells from Ecclesfield

To the left you can see the chipping on the edge of the bell from tuning hundreds of years ago. This set of bells from High Wycombe date from 1633.


It was a privallage to listen to these men speak so passionatley  about their bells, their work, the echoes of their work through the centuries - quite literally- and the pure pleasure and pride they take. News items are updated on their website and you can read about a number of their activities and events, including making the Jubilee Bells, 150th anniversary of Big Ben and the "All the Bells" project for the olympics, here. Time for some noise? An interactive from The Guardian.  Talking to the workers at the foundry, one is also a piano tuner, another a maker of bagpipes. I came away with the feeling that these men are both blacksmiths and musical engineers.



Bells have long rung in births, deaths, marriages, war, celebration, worship, liberty, and simple art of  telling the time for centuries. Bells are the voice of a community to call them together or express warning,  joy or sorrow.  May the whitechapel bell boys ring on.

The Bell Boys