I am re-posting the latest post on Spitalfields Life not just because it describes and shows pictures of yesterday’s rally, but because it provides such an admirably clear account of the legalities of the hearing next Thursday: that if the Council is to allow re-use, the current owners must be able to demonstrate that its […]

We went to the local rally in support of the campaign to save the Whitechapel Bell Foundry, which was held, first, in the hall of the East London Mosque, and, then, outside the Foundry itself. Three of the local councillors, who provide much the best hope of persuading the planning committee not to give permission […]

I have been pondering the decision of the Survey of London not to get involved in the controversy surrounding the Whitechapel Bell Foundry, but, instead, to maintain a position of scholarly and academic neutrality. Its draft entry, due to be published in a two-volume publication in 2021, stops with its sale, not covering any of […]

I have gone quiet of late about the now long-ish saga of the fate of the Whitechapel Bell Foundry. To recap. It was sold by its long-standing owners, the Hughes family, to an east London property developer who flipped it at once at a handsome profit to a New York venture capitalist called Bippy Segal […]

I have stopped commenting recently on the fate of the Whitechapel Bell Foundry because I thought there was nothing left to say as we await with trepidation the decision of Tower Hamlets planning committee, now delayed, apparently because of the discovery of Roman remains under the Foundry. But out of the blue, the Daily Mail […]

Well, well, the hearing of the planning application for the development of the Bell Foundry which was due to take place on 30th. July in a fortnight’s time has been postponed. Let’s hope this is good news: that Tower Hamlets has realised that a catastrophe has been due to take place and the historic fabric […]

I am learning from the amazing amount of traffic on my twitter account how much the Whitechapel Bell Foundry means to people: not just as a set of historic buildings, but because it represents such a strong sense of historic continuity, which has now been ruptured. Much the most popular tweet came from someone who […]

I have been fascinated by the extraordinary amount of ill feeling which has been generated by the decision of Historic England to throw in its lot with the plans of a New York venture capitalist to turn the Bell Foundry into an ersatz hotel, rather than help and support the plans of the United Kingdom […]

Duncan Wilson, the Chief executive of Historic England, has written a carefully considered response to the Times to the letter which Dan Cruickshank and I wrote on Friday. For those who don’t have access to the Times, I am re-publishing it here:- Sir, The proposals for the Whitechapel Bell Foundry (letter, Jul 12) have been […]

I have been asked by several people if anything can be done to save the Whitechapel Bell Foundry. The answer is as follows:- 1. The Gentle Author, who writes the blog Spitalfields Life, has established a website, Save the Whitechapel Bell Foundry, which includes all the relevant information about how to object to the planning […]