A month or so ago, I was asked to write a piece about the Bell Foundry as background to Adam Dant’s very beautiful drawing which shows the way in which bells from the Bell Foundry were sent round the world: from Nova Scotia to Barbados; and from St. Petersburg to Sydney; whilst at the same time providing most of the bells for the City churches – not just St. Paul’s, but St. James Garlickhythe and St. Mary-le-Bow. In many ways, Dant’s illustration needs no accompanying text: it tells the whole story graphically. But it gave me an opportunity to review the sorry saga of Historic England choosing not to support its preservation, but instead to lend its support to its bastardisation as a hotel, a shameful episode in preservation history:-

https://thecritic.co.uk/battle-of-the-bells-and-the-boutique-hotel/

I went on my deferred bicycle ride along the south side of the river from Greenwich to Woolwich: an adventure, past the Royal Naval College, past the Trinity Hospital, almshouses which survive in the lee of Greenwich Power Station:-

Along the track up the west side of Greenwich Peninsula, which is mostly either derelict or awaiting new development, past Richard Wilson’s Slice of Reality and down the east side of the Peninsula which is much more boring – endless blocks of big, nondescript character until one gets to more industrial wastelands, past the Thames Barrier:-

The Faraday Works in Charlton, once the home of Siemens Brothers, who laid the Indo-European cable through Russia to Teheran:-

Looking back, one sees the City in the distance:-

And so to Woolwich for lunch.

I am a great admirer of the way the Gentle Author keeps a close watch on new developments in East London in a fearless way. Last night the Tower Hamlets planning committee allowed the demolition of the gas holders by the Regent’s Canal on the grounds that those who objected to the demolition had ‘a vested interest in heritage’. Of course. We all do. Or has it become a sin to want to protect our history ?

Today, in his excellent post, he makes clear the analogies between the way developers get permission for building projects and then break their promises with impunity, which is what is all too likely to happen at the Bell Foundry if Raycliff gets its permission at the forthcoming public inquiry:-

https://spitalfieldslife.com/2020/09/25/three-sneaky-developers/

I made the mistake of posting information about Romilly’s presence (or absence) in this year’s Goldsmith’s Fair prematurely, before her online shop was allowed to be open, but the Goldsmith’s Fair has now officially opened today and so I am reposting the links, first to her page in the Fair:-

And secondly to the other work she has made in conjunction with the Fair:-

https://www.romillysaumarezsmith.com/new-for-goldsmiths-fair

Since the Prime Minister chose to invoke the idea that as a nation – he meant, I suspect, the English, not the Scots or the Welsh – we are so freedom-loving that we choose not to obey rules passed in our collective interest, it is worth considering what exactly he meant by this. It is an interesting national stereotype. Not for the first time, I have wondered if he models himself on the Anglo-Saxons in their contest against the Normans. As a child brought up in Brussels, he is probably well versed in the views of Asterix towards the Romans. See Julian Baggini on the topic:-

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/sep/23/freedom-loving-brits-prime-minister-state-conservative?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Other

Here it is. We invented freedom of speech and democracy. So what was the third thing which he stumbles over or has forgotten ?

I have by accident watched more than once the Prime Minister’s answer to Ben Bradshaw’s very legitimate question as to why the Germans and Italians have managed their test and trace system so much better than us. He starts with a reflex attack on the naysayers about our test and trace system pretending that it is run by the NHS when, as he must surely know, it is run not by the NHS but by Serco and its failure is the fault of the government and the private sector, not the NHS.

Then he goes into an astonishing and fascinating rant about how it is impossible to get the English to do what they are asked to do because they are ‘a freedom-loving people’ who were responsible for every development of freedom in the last three hundred years. Discuss. Of course, he did Greats not history. And then there is a fatal pause when he was obviously about to say that we were responsible for the development of the Rule of Law, but, in the circumstances, this might have been a touch ill advised, even by his standards, as he is the first Prime Minister who has breached the Rule of Law for three hundred years.

And have the Italians not loved their freedoms too ?

I have been encouraged to post the information about the official hearing concerning the future of the Whitechapel Bell Foundry as below. It seems that you can listen to proceedings if you are interested and can submit evidence if you haven’t already. Normally, it would be held in public and in those circumstances, it was felt to be desirable that there should be a high attendance in order to demonstrate the level of public interest in the outcome, but with the hearings online, I suspect that this is no longer so relevant:-

TOWN AND COUNTRY PLANNING ACT 1990
PUBLIC INQUIRY TO BE HELD AS A VIRTUAL EVENT
Opening on 10:00 on 6 October 2020

REASON FOR INQUIRY
Planning and Listed Building Consent applications by Raycliff Whitechapel LLP to the London Borough of Tower Hamlets for Internal alterations including reinstatement of a foundry (B2 use) and ancillary uses; refurbishment of spaces to provide new workshops and workspace (B1 use), with café (A3 use) in listed old foundry. External alterations to raise roof of hayloft building and create new link building. Demolition of unlisted 1980s building and wall to the rear. Erection of building along Plumbers Row and Fieldgate Street with hotel (C1 use) with ancillary members and guest uses in part 5,6 and 7 storeys with x2 levels of basement, with restaurant/bar (A3/4 uses) at ground and mezzanine level and additional workspace (B1 use) on ground and first floors. Roof plant, pool,
photovoltaics, waste storage, cycle parking, public realm improvements and associated works, at The Bell Foundry, 32-34 Whitechapel Road, 2 Fieldgate Street and Land to the Rear, have been referred to the Secretary of State for Housing Communities and Local Government for his determination.

An Inspector appointed by the Secretary of State will hold an Inquiry opening on the date shown above in order to report to the Secretary of State for Housing Communities and Local Government to assist with his determination. The Inquiry will be held as a virtual event run by an Inspector in the normal way, but with the parties invited to join via Microsoft Teams or telephone.

Documents relating to the applications can be viewed on the Council website
https://www.towerhamlets.gov.uk/lgnl/planning_and_building_control/planning_applications/search_and_comment_planning_applications.aspx
If the above web link fails to load, please copy and paste the above URL directly into your web browser.

Anyone wishing to attend the inquiry must make their interest known to the Planning Inspectorate Case Officer as soon as possible prior to the Inquiry, either by email or telephone after reading the Inquiry Attendance Information set out below. When contacting the Case Officer, it would be helpful if you could confirm whether you want to take an active part in the proceedings or anticipate attending just as an observer (see below).

Inquiry Attendance Information
Before deciding whether to take an active part in the Inquiry, you need to think carefully about the points you wish to make. All written submissions from the application stages will be taken into account by the Inspector and re-stating the same points won’t add any additional weight to them.
If you feel that taking part in the Inquiry is right for you in whatever capacity, you can participate in a number of ways:
To take part using video, participants will need to have access to Microsoft
Teams (via an app or web browser). This link gives further information on how to use this. https://support.office.com/en-us/teams. Alternatively you can take part by telephone. Calls would be to an 020 number which will incur charges.
https://www.gov.uk/call-charges
If you intend to take an active part in the proceedings, please make clear in your response:
· whether you wish to appear at the Inspector’s opening to address any
procedural matters;
· whether you wish only to make a statement to the Inquiry; or
· whether you would also wish to ask questions on particular topics.
If you want to take an active part but feel unable to for any reason, and/or the points you want to make are not covered in the evidence of others, consider whether someone else could raise them on your behalf.
Registered participants in whatever capacity will receive individual joining
instructions, providing details of any requirements, guidance and support,
whether joining by Teams or telephone.
You should note that the event will be recorded by the Planning Inspectorate for training and quality assurance purposes.
Planning Inspectorate References:
APP/E5900/V/20/3245430 & APP/E5900/V/20/3245432

Case Officer contact at the Planning Inspectorate: Elizabeth Humphrey
(Elizabeth.humphrey@planninginspectorate.gov.uk, 0303 444 5384)

I have been thinking about a comment made by a friend who walked from Clerkenwell up the Whitechapel Road. She remarked how sad it was that the Bell Foundry had been shuttered up for so long; and then pointed out that it is not so far from the old London Hospital building which is being renovated as the new Tower Hamlets Town Hall. Does Tower Hamlets, she asked, not care about its local history ? It made me think about the ways in which the Bell Foundry is a monument not just in its own right, but to the development of the city eastwards in the mid-eighteenth century, as Spitalfields expanded and potteries opened in Limehouse and Bow: examples of small industries dependent on specialist skills, of which the Foundry was an exceptionally well-preserved example; at least, I can’t think of others which survived in the same way. They will regret it. But by then it will be too late.

I’ve been trying to figure out why it is that Italy doesn’t seem to be suffering from a Second Wave in the same way as France, Spain and now, looking at the statistics, we are too. It all seems fairly obvious: a very strict and totally consistent set of rules, which have been rigorously enforced by the carabinieri from the beginning; equally strict measures at the airports; a strong communal enforcement of mask wearing; publication of the evidence of medical problems, so that everyone knows and understands the problems and the risks; and a health minister who the public trusts. None of this is rocket science. But it all feels far beyond our world-beating government to pay attention to what is happening in other countries and to steer a consistent path between libertarianism one minute and a crackdown the next.