For Whom the Bell Tolls

I walk past this place in Whitechapel Road every so often without realising the history behind it, so today during my lunch break, I popped in to have a look.

Apparently, this is the oldest continuously recorded company in Britian - founded in 1570 - and responsible for some rather famous bells..

The company made the Liberty Bell in 1751 after an order was placed by the Assembly of the Province of Pennsylvania and Big Ben for the Houses of Parliament in 1858. Plus countless bells for churches throughout the world, including St Mary's in Sydney, The Great Bell of Montreal and St Michael's Church, Sth Carolina... Oh and of course, thousands upon thousands of bells for school teachers everywhere to signal the end of break-time.

I really should pay more attention to the history of where I live and work :-)

[Claudette Shelby]

I really like this picture. I saw the Liberty Bell when I went to Philadelphia. It was not actually the real Liberty Bell, which was on loan to another location. The replica was still very impressive.