Attached is a very good and clear statement of what could and should happen to the Whitechapel Bell Foundry now that Bippy Siegal, its New York owner, has decided to put it up for sale instead of developing the site as a hotel.
The London Bell Foundry is a not-for-profit company which has been established to maintain the knowledge and expertise of those who worked at the bell foundry under Nigel Taylor, its foreman, and, at the same time, develop new bells by commissioning artists, beginning with Grayson Perry. If the London Bell Foundry can acquire the site, then bell making will continue in Whitechapel; and a building of exceptional interest and historical significance can be preserved.
| Charles | Saumarez | Smith | 
Dear Charles
Relieved to read this. No doubt the UK’s current economic instability has played a part with Siegal’s decision to sell the foundry. Doubtful he sensed a moral crisis.
Tower Hamlets does not need a luxury hotel situated meters away from a hostel for homeless men!
Surely LBF can convince Charles III to become its new patron thus lending heavyweight support? A project /organisation such as this should be right up his street!
Currently in Berlin where it’s hard to imagine problems such as this with retaining historic buildings for their original use.
Regards Elaine
Elaine Mitchener MBE DAAD Artists-in-Berlin Fellow 2022 http://www.elainemitchener.com
Dear Elaine, Yes, the building provides such a good opportunity for imaginative use, which the London Bell Foundry would provide, keeping its character, as well as the built fabric, alive. Charles