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You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2018/jul/21/bell-factory-that-made-big-ben-opens-to-public-for-one-night-only
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| Bell factory that made Big Ben opens to public for one night only | Bell factory that made Big Ben opens to public for one night only |
| (30 days later) | |
| The factory that cast some of the most famous bells in the world, including Big Ben and the Liberty Bell in Philadelphia, is opening to the public for one night only. | The factory that cast some of the most famous bells in the world, including Big Ben and the Liberty Bell in Philadelphia, is opening to the public for one night only. |
| The artist Rachel Pimm will present a performance piece in the the now-closed Whitechapel Bell Foundry on Saturday night, with music incorporating bells that still remain on the site, as part of Nocturnal Creatures, a one-night arts festival across East End sites created by the nearby Whitechapel Gallery. | The artist Rachel Pimm will present a performance piece in the the now-closed Whitechapel Bell Foundry on Saturday night, with music incorporating bells that still remain on the site, as part of Nocturnal Creatures, a one-night arts festival across East End sites created by the nearby Whitechapel Gallery. |
| Pimm, who interviewed the former owners and foundry workers for her piece, will be in a 1970s workshop within the warren of 18th-, 19th- and 20th-century buildings that make up the Grade II*-listed foundry. She will use traditional materials including tin, copper, London brick, clay, horse hair and very smelly goat hair obtained from original suppliers to the firm. | Pimm, who interviewed the former owners and foundry workers for her piece, will be in a 1970s workshop within the warren of 18th-, 19th- and 20th-century buildings that make up the Grade II*-listed foundry. She will use traditional materials including tin, copper, London brick, clay, horse hair and very smelly goat hair obtained from original suppliers to the firm. |
| The closure of the oldest manufacturing business in the UK last year, and the sale of its beautiful premises to a developer, sparked a conservation row that is still rumbling on. | The closure of the oldest manufacturing business in the UK last year, and the sale of its beautiful premises to a developer, sparked a conservation row that is still rumbling on. |
| Whitechapel Bell Foundry: end of an era – in pictures | Whitechapel Bell Foundry: end of an era – in pictures |
| The firm had been making bells since 1570 and probably longer, and occupied the Whitechapel site since 1738. It was sold by the fourth generation of the Hughes family, owners since 1904, who insisted that the business was no longer viable on the site. | The firm had been making bells since 1570 and probably longer, and occupied the Whitechapel site since 1738. It was sold by the fourth generation of the Hughes family, owners since 1904, who insisted that the business was no longer viable on the site. |
| A petition to save the foundry, launched by Spitalfields Life, an award-winning local history blog, which broke the news of the closure, attracted 10,000 signatures and support from arts world, including Charles Saumarez Smith, chief executive of the Royal Academy. | A petition to save the foundry, launched by Spitalfields Life, an award-winning local history blog, which broke the news of the closure, attracted 10,000 signatures and support from arts world, including Charles Saumarez Smith, chief executive of the Royal Academy. |
| However, the site was sold last year for a reported £5.1m, and on the same day sold on for £7.9m to a company called Raycliff, which hopes to win change of use and planning permission to preserve the listed buildings and add a hotel on the unlisted part and the car park. | However, the site was sold last year for a reported £5.1m, and on the same day sold on for £7.9m to a company called Raycliff, which hopes to win change of use and planning permission to preserve the listed buildings and add a hotel on the unlisted part and the car park. |
| Another group is now campaigning to buy the site and restore bell-making. The joint proposal from the UK Historic Building Preservation Trust, whose patron is Prince Charles, and the Factum Foundation for Digital Technology in Conservation – a charity linked to the Madrid-based Factum Arte which specialises in scanning and recreating art objects – argues that with cutting-edge technology married to traditional techniques, the business could have a flourishing future. | Another group is now campaigning to buy the site and restore bell-making. The joint proposal from the UK Historic Building Preservation Trust, whose patron is Prince Charles, and the Factum Foundation for Digital Technology in Conservation – a charity linked to the Madrid-based Factum Arte which specialises in scanning and recreating art objects – argues that with cutting-edge technology married to traditional techniques, the business could have a flourishing future. |
| The buildings trust has already restored Middleport, a Victorian pottery in Stoke-on-Trent, now flourishing as a visitor attraction and a working pottery. | The buildings trust has already restored Middleport, a Victorian pottery in Stoke-on-Trent, now flourishing as a visitor attraction and a working pottery. |
| Although some equipment has been sold, and other pieces along with the last bell cast on the site given to the Museum of London, the bell pits, cranes and pulleys, the bell tuner and other pieces of machinery remain. | Although some equipment has been sold, and other pieces along with the last bell cast on the site given to the Museum of London, the bell pits, cranes and pulleys, the bell tuner and other pieces of machinery remain. |
| Pimm said there has been a constant stream of people rattling the door and trying to come in, both Londoners and tourists. “People feel very deeply about this site – it’s a privilege to be working here,” she said. | Pimm said there has been a constant stream of people rattling the door and trying to come in, both Londoners and tourists. “People feel very deeply about this site – it’s a privilege to be working here,” she said. |
| Her installation is one of a string of events in the Whitechapel Gallery that will spill out into the surrounding streets, including music, poetry, film, and a “walking forest” of plants and people created by the Peruvian artist Lucia Monge, which begins at 6pm on 21 July and continues until midnight. | Her installation is one of a string of events in the Whitechapel Gallery that will spill out into the surrounding streets, including music, poetry, film, and a “walking forest” of plants and people created by the Peruvian artist Lucia Monge, which begins at 6pm on 21 July and continues until midnight. |
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