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Monument Types

• BELL FOUNDRY (Late Post-medieval to Modern - 1859 AD to 2050 AD)

Summary

One of only two surviving bell foundries in the country. The Taylors came to Loughborough in 1839 and built on this site in 1859. At one time it was apparently the biggest bell foundry in the world.

Additional Information

Listed building description (west side of Cobden Street):
Bell foundry. 1859, later C19, 1898 and early C20. Red brick and Welsh slate roofs. Various ranges of 1 and 2 storeys and 2 towers. Main range, facing Freehold Street, is of later C19 and of 2 storeys. 6-window range of a 20-pane window to left and five 4-pane sash windows to centre-right and right. On ground floor are 2 doorways and a large double doorway to left, four 24-pane windows to centre, two 4-pane sashes to centre right, then a double doorway and a further 4-pane sash. All openings have brick cambered heads. Moulded brick string course, moulded brick eaves and brick parapet. On right end are various sash windows with margin lights. To far left, a 4-stage tower dated 1898. This has a 9-pane window with stone Gibbs surround, and above, a round window with stone surround with keystones. The third stage has 4 rusticated stone pilasters on each face, a stone cornice and a parapet with curved top, stone coping and ball finials. The left side of the tower, facing Cobden Street, is similar, with datestone in parapet. Further range facing Cobden Street has tall brick stack, irregular fenestration and a double doorway. Rear range facing Peel Drive (formerly Chapman Street) is dated 1859. A single storey, 7-window range of five iron-framed 25-pane windows and two similar 45-pane windows to left. Stone tablets inscribed J.W.T 1859. To the rear of the main range is an attached early C20 tower of 3 stages with plain tile hipped roof. The bottom stage has 2 sides open, being supported on an iron column and girders. Above these sides, on each face, are two 2-light leaded casements. The third stage is open, with timber-framing between brick corner piers.
Interior not inspected.
History: the Taylor family, originally bell founders in St. Neots and elsewhere, came to Loughborough in 1839. In 1858 J.W. Taylor bought this site and began new foundry buildings. An engraved letterhead of pre-1886 shows the buildings existing then being similar in appearance to those existing at present, including that part on the east side of Cobden Street (q.v.), with three stacks. The business prospered and is reported to have been at one time the largest bell foundry in the world. Here were cast bells for St. Paul's Cathedral, London, including in 1881 'Great Paul', the largest bell in the former British Empire and the largest properly rung bell in the world. Bells and carillons have been exported from this foundry to all parts of the former Empire, USA and Holland. It is one of the two operational bell foundries remaining in the country.
(The Taylor family, Leicester, 1933, passim.; Mary Crockett, 'Bells in our Lives', Newton Abbot, 1973, pp35-41; P.L. Taylor, 'Two Hundred Years of History', Loughborough, 1959, n.p.; Tender for Rochdale Town Hall bells in 1886, in Loughborough Public Library Pamphlets 750-800).
Year of construction: 1859

Listed building description (east side of Cobden Street):
Erecting, finishing and tuning shops, carpenter's shop, smithy, offices and carillon tower forming part of a bell manufactory. 1859, with later C19 and early C20 additions and alterations, those in 1898 to the designs of Barrowcliffe and Allcock, architects, of Loughborough.
MATERIALS: Red brick with Welsh slate roof coverings, incorporating areas of fixed glazing.
PLAN: Former evolved courtyard plan, the courtyard now roofed over and the complex extended to the north-westward.
EXTERIOR: The complex is made up of various ranges of 1 and 2 storeys and incorporates 2 towers. The main 2 storey range to Freehold Street is late C19. The street frontage elevation has six 20-pane windows to the left and five 4-pane sash windows to the centre right and far right. On the ground floor are 2 doorways and a large double doorway to the left, four 24-pane windows to centre, then two 4-pane sash windows to centre right and a double doorway and further 4-pane sash window. All of the openings have brick cambered heads. The elevation is embellished with a moulded brick string course and moulded brick eaves below a brick parapet. At the right-hand end are various sash windows with margin lights. To the far left is a 3-stage corner tower dated 1898, with a 9-pane window set within a stone Gibbs surround. Above, the second stage has a circular window with a keyed stone surround. The third stage has 4 rusticated stone pilasters on each face, a stone cornice, and a parapet with curved top, stone coping and ball finials. The left side of the tower facing Cobden Street is similar detailed with a date stone set within the parapet. The range to Cobden Street has a tall tapering square brick stack, irregular fenestration and a double doorway. The single storey rear range facing Peel Drive (formerly Chapman Street) is the original foundry building and is dated 1859. It has 5 iron-framed 25-pane windows, and 2 similar 45-pane windows to the left. Stone plaques within the walling are inscribed 'J.V.T 1859.' To the rear of the main range is an attached early C20 carillon tower of 3 stages with plain-tile hipped roof. The bottom stage has 2 sides open, being supported on an iron column and girders. Above these sides, on each face, are two 2-light leaded casements. The third stage is open, with timber framing between brick corner piers and attached carillon bells.
INTERIOR: This part of the bellfoundry site is where the finishing of bells and bell frames and the tuning of bells takes place, using specialist machinery, some of which is unique to bell manufacture. In particular, the tuning shop contains 4 fixed bell-tuning machines, three of which were specifically designed for the foundry and originally belt driven from line shafting. The fitting and turning shops contain lathes and planing and drilling machinery, whilst the carpenter's shop and the forge house woodworking and smithy equipment. The smithy retains a modified former steam hammer. Above the carpenters' shop is a loft which now serves as the pattern store. Within the erecting shop and bell tuning areas are travelling cranes to facilitate the moving of large castings. These run on wall-mounted runners supported by cast-iron brackets or masonry piers. Although the furnaces of the original foundry area and their chimneys have been removed, their location is still marked by arched recesses in the north wall of the old foundry building. The reconstruction following the fire of 1891 saw the introduction of tensioned metal roof trusses in some parts of the site, notably in the erecting shop, but areas of earlier timber roof structures survive in the carpenters shop, the erecting and tuning shop and the tuning room. Much of the ground floor of the office area has been altered, but a late C19 turned baluster stair leads to first floor rooms including a strong room, archive store and an office with fitted bookshelves and cupboards containing the company's order books and other historic documents.
Forms a group with that part of Taylor's Bell Foundry to the east side of Cobden Street (q.v.)
SOURCES:
The Architectural History Practice Ltd. Taylor's Bellfoundry, Loughborough'. Unpublished Report. November 2009.

Taylor Eayre & Smith went into administration in September 2009 and was bought by UK Bell Foundries.
(Information from Leicester Mercury, 'http://www.thisisleicestershire.co.uk/news/Joy-Loughborough-s-bell-foundry-saved/article-1429324-detail/article.html', accessed 07/12/2009.)

<1> Sites and Monuments Record, Parish File, Loughborough General File (Unpublished document). SLE320.

The building was visited as part of a work placement project in 2004. "Now partly converted to a museum, the buildings are in good condition and are still used for bell-founding as originally built."

<2> Palmer, M (ed), 1983, Leicestershire Archaeology - The Present State of Knowledge - Industrial Archaeology, p29 (Bibliographic reference). SLE412.

In 'Present State', "John Taylor & Co., one of the few remaining bellfounders were established in the town in 1839 and commenced building on this site in 1859. There are characteristic cupola chimneys and a small bell tower for test purposes; the firm are famed for the casting of the 16 ton bell Great Paul at St Paul's; they also built the carillon in the local Queens Park."

<3> Bowe, Andrew James, 1993, Painting a picture of Leicestershire's Built Heritage: The Buildings at Risk Survey, p38 (Unpublished document). SLE5068.

The Bell Foundry was surveyed for Buildings at Risk in 1993, when it was found to be slipping into a state of disrepair.

<4> 2012, Heritage at Risk: East Midlands Register 2012, p32 (Bibliographic reference). SLE7398.

On Heritage at Risk Register 2012: condition POOR; occupancy OCCUPIED/IN USE; priority category C(NEW ENTRY); owner type COMMERCIAL COMPANY
"Bell foundry,1859, with later C19 and early C20 additions and alterations.The only operational purpose-built bell foundry in England and the buildings have been in continuous use for the built purpose. Roof coverings in poor condition and there is evidence of water ingress. Taylors have plans to encourage community engagement and increase public access. EH grant offered in 2012 for project development works."

<5> 2013, Heritage at Risk: East Midlands Register 2013, p17 (Bibliographic reference). SLE7406.

On Heritage at Risk Register 2013: condition POOR; occupancy OCCUPIED/IN USE; priority category C(C); owner type COMMERCIAL COMPANY
"...Taylors have plans to encourage community engagement and increase public access. English Heritage grant offered in 2012 for project development works."

<6> 2014, Heritage at Risk: East Midlands Register 2014, p16 (Bibliographic reference). SLE7407.

On Heritage at Risk Register 2014: condition POOR; occupancy OCCUPIED/IN USE; priority category C(C); owner type COMMERCIAL COMPANY
"...Taylors have plans to encourage community engagement and increase public access. A development phase, part funded by English Heritage grant, was completed in the autumn of 2013. Preliminary discussions have been held with the Heritage Lottery Fund."

<7> 2015, Heritage at Risk: East Midlands Register 2015, p17 (Bibliographic reference). SLE7421.

On Heritage at Risk Register 2015: condition POOR; occupancy OCCUPIED/IN USE; priority category C(C); owner type COMMERCIAL COMPANY
"...A condition survey, part funded by a Historic England grant, was completed in the autumn of 2013. A further grant application to tackle emergency repairs is anticipated.
Preliminary discussions have been held with the Heritage Lottery Fund regarding a major access project."

<8> 2016, Heritage at Risk: East Midlands Register 2016, p16-17 (Bibliographic reference). SLE7422.

East side of Cobden Street:
On Heritage at Risk Register 2016: condition VERY BAD; occupancy OCCUPIED/IN USE; priority category F(C); owner type COMMERCIAL COMPANY
West side of Cobden Street:
On Heritage at Risk Register 2016: condition POOR; occupancy OCCUPIED/IN USE; priority category F(C); owner type COMMERCIAL COMPANY
"...By 2011 roof coverings and roof drainage were in poor condition and some roof timbers had suffered significant deterioration as a result of water ingress. An initial phase of urgent works is currently underway with funding from Historic England. Discussions are ongoing with the Heritage Lottery Fund regarding a future access and repair project."

<9> 2017, Heritage at Risk: East Midlands Register 2017, p17 (Bibliographic reference). SLE7423.

East side of Cobden Street:
On Heritage at Risk Register 2017: condition VERY BAD; occupancy OCCUPIED/IN USE; priority category F(F); owner type COMMERCIAL COMPANY
West side of Cobden Street:
On Heritage at Risk Register 2017: condition POOR; occupancy OCCUPIED/IN USE; priority category F(F); owner type CHARITY (HERITAGE)
Description as previous.

<10> 2018, Heritage at Risk: East Midlands Register 2018, p18 (Bibliographic reference). SLE7425.

East side of Cobden Street:
On Heritage at Risk Register 2018: condition VERY BAD; occupancy OCCUPIED/IN USE; priority category F(F); owner type COMMERCIAL COMPANY
West side of Cobden Street:
On Heritage at Risk Register 2018: condition POOR; occupancy OCCUPIED/IN USE; priority category F(F); owner type CHARITY (HERITAGE)
Description as previous.

<11> 2019, Heritage at Risk: Midlands Register 2019, p16 (Bibliographic reference). SLE7426.

East side of Cobden Street:
On Heritage at Risk Register 2019: condition POOR; occupancy OCCUPIED/IN USE; priority category C(F); owner type COMMERCIAL COMPANY
West side of Cobden Street:
On Heritage at Risk Register 2019: condition POOR; occupancy OCCUPIED/IN USE; priority category F(F); owner type CHARITY (HERITAGE)
"...Urgent, priority repair works have been undertaken with grants from Historic England. The National Lottery Heritage Fund awarded a grant to develop a major repair and public access project in 2018; a project team has been appointed and preliminary work is underway."

<12> 2020, Heritage at Risk: Midlands Register 2020, p16-17 (Bibliographic reference). SLE7427.

East side of Cobden Street:
On Heritage at Risk Register 2020: condition POOR; occupancy OCCUPIED/IN USE; priority category C(C); owner type COMMERCIAL COMPANY
West side of Cobden Street:
On Heritage at Risk Register 2020: condition POOR; occupancy OCCUPIED/IN USE; priority category F(F); owner type CHARITY (HERITAGE)
"...The National Lottery Heritage Fund awarded a grant to develop a major repair and public access project in 2018. Preliminary work is underway but fundraising slowed in early 2020 as an impact of Covid-19."

<13> 2021, Heritage at Risk: Midlands Register 2021, p16-17 (Bibliographic reference). SLE7448.

East side of Cobden Street:
On Heritage at Risk Register 2021: condition POOR; occupancy OCCUPIED/IN USE; priority category F(C); owner type COMMERCIAL COMPANY
West side of Cobden Street:
On Heritage at Risk Register 2021: condition POOR; occupancy OCCUPIED/IN USE; priority category F(F); owner type CHARITY (HERITAGE)
"...The National Lottery Heritage Fund awarded a grant to develop a major repair and public access project in 2018. A grant of c 3.5M has subsequently been awarded and work is due to start in March 2022. Though generous, it is insufficient to tackle all repair needs. Further urgent work took place in 2020 with Historic England Heritage Stimulus Funds."

<14> 2022, Heritage at Risk: Midlands Register 2022, p16-17 (Bibliographic reference). SLE7076.

East side of Cobden Street
Heritage at Risk 2022: condition POOR; priority category F(F); occupancy OCCUPIED/IN USE; owner type COMMERCIAL COMPANY
West side of Cobden Street
Heritage at Risk 2022: condition POOR; priority category F(F); occupancy OCCUPIED/IN USE; owner type CHARITY (HERITAGE)
"…Work is expected to commence in summer 2022 and finish in late 2023. Funds are insufficient to tackle all repair needs. Further urgent work took place in 2020 with Historic England Heritage Stimulus Funds."

<15> 2023, Heritage at Risk: Midlands Register 2023, p17 (Bibliographic reference). SLE7389.

East side of Cobden Street
Heritage at Risk 2023: condition POOR; priority category F(F); occupancy OCCUPIED/IN USE; owner type COMMERCIAL COMPANY
West side of Cobden Street
Heritage at Risk 2023: condition POOR; priority category F(F); occupancy OCCUPIED/IN USE; owner type CHARITY (HERITAGE)
Description as previous.

<16> 2016, National Record of the Historic Environment (NRHE) accessioning (Website). SLE4981.

SUMMARY: "The premises of John Taylors Ltd. Bell Foundary. The foundry was built in 1859, with a single furnace and an open yard with a casting pit, saw pit and well. In the early 1860s joinery, blacksmiths and brass workshops were added around the yard, and later, offices and a shop were built on the street frontage. In 1866 a steam engine and boiler house were added to the complex and further expansion took place in 1874. In 1891 the site was seriously damged by fire but was rebuilt in 1892. A bell tuning workshop was added in 1895. The fire damaged clock tower was replaced by a campanile in 1898 and in 1905 a new open carillon tower was errected designed by Loughborough architects Barrowcliffe and Allcock. Iron founding operations ceased in 1979. In 2005 Taylors amalgamated with bell hangers Eayre and Smith to become Taylors Eayre and Smith. This company went into administration in 2009. The foundary still operates and is run by a consortium. The part of the foundary where bells and bell frames are finished is built of red brick with slate and transparent corrugated sheet roof coverings. The bell tower constructed in 1898 contains a peal of ten bells. This part of the foundry site includes the original foundry builidng, the pattern store, fitting, turning and erecting shops, blacksmiths shop and tuning shop. The carillon tower has a destinctive Arts and Crafts design. The eastern complex was for the casting of bells. The buildings are of brick with corrugated sheet and Welsh slate roof coverings. It is L-shaped in plan. To the north is the former fettling shop and pattern store both areas now a museum. The site is listed Grade II*."
URL: 'https://nrhe-to-her.esdm.co.uk/NRHE/RecordDetail.aspx?pageid=45&he_uid=929295', accessioned 15/04/2024.

<17> RCHME: National Forest Project, Andrew Williams/01-MAR-1995 (Archive). SLE7281.

SK 5405 1984: John Taylors Ltd. bell foundry is located on Chapman Street Loughborough.

<18> Smith, David M, 1965, Industrial Archaeology of the East Midlands, p258 (Bibliographic reference). SLE7288.

See National Forest entry.

<19> 1892, Murrays Handbook to Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire, Leicestershire and Staffordshire, 3rd Revised Edition, p132 (Bibliographic reference). SLE7501.

The foundry was noted as being in operation in 1884.

<20> English Heritage Listing File, Heritage Protection Adviser, 20th January 2010 (Unpublished document). SLE7333.

The development of bell founding in Loughborough originated in 1838 when All Saints' Church invited tenders for the re-casting of its church bells, specifying that the work should take place in or near Loughborough. John Taylor, who was operating foundries in Oxford and Buckland Brewer in Devon with his brother John, was seeking to establish a foundry business in the Midlands. Loughborough at this time was the largest industrial town in Leicestershire, and Taylor, having won the All Saints' contract, took a lease on an existing foundry in Pack Horse Lane which soon became the base for his business. From 1849 onwards, bell founding became the main concern of the business, and John Taylor built up influential contacts in ecclesiastical and architectural circles. The company exhibited at the Great Exhibition in 1851, and was awarded a 'record of Special Approbation as well as the Prize Medal'. The company flourished and broke into the London market, winning a contract to re-cast fifteen bells for the Royal Exchange. John Taylor died in 1858, and his son John William took over the business. The lease on the Pack Horse Lane Foundry was due to expire in 1860, so in 1859, John William purchased parcels of land in the Cherry Orchard and Coneries district In Loughborough and began the incremental development of the site now located on Freehold Street, Cobden Street and Chapman Street. The first building to be constructed was the foundry, with a single furnace and an open yard with a casting pit, saw pit and well. In the early 1860s joinery, blacksmiths and brass workshops were added around the yard, and later, offices and a shop were built on the Cobden Street frontage. In 1866 a steam engine and boiler house were added to the complex, and further expansion took place in 1874 when the bell casting operations were transferred to a new casting hall and hand bell foundry on the other side of Cobden Street. In the face of increasing competition from a growing number of bell foundries, the company won the contract to supply a ring of twelve bells for St Paul's Cathedral. This was followed by a commission from St Paul's to supply the largest bell ever cast in Britain, weighing nearly seventeen tons. The bell, known as Great Paul, had to be transported to London by road, drawn by two traction engines on a journey lasting eleven days. In 1891, the foundry site was seriously damaged by fire, which destroyed the small bell tuning shop, the offices, the clock tower and the washhouse. Following re-building, re-organisation and improvement, the building complex was described in 1892 as the largest bell foundry in the world. The company was at this time also specialising in the harmonic tuning of bells, and in 1895 a bell tuning workshop was added to the erecting and bell tuning shop. Four tuning machines were installed between 1896 and 1900, the largest weighing fifteen tons. In 1898 the fire damaged clock tower was replaced by a campanile, and in 1905, the final major addition took place with the completion of a new open carillon tower designed by Loughborough architects Barrowcliff and Allcock. This housed the first carillon built by an English bell founder, and the fashion for stationary bells sustained the company's development up to and beyond the 1914-18 war, 1921 being its most successful year. The company continued to cast bells throughout the inter-war period, and after the 1939-45 war met the demand for memorial bells. Iron founding operations on the site ceased in 1979, and in 1981 Paul Lee Taylor died, ending over two centuries of bell founding by the Taylor family. In circa 2005 Taylors amalgamated with bell hangers Eayre and Smith and became Taylors Eayre and Smith. This company went into administration in 2009, and was subsequently purchased by a consortium which now operates the business.
This part of the bell foundry site is where the finishing of bells and bell frames and the tuning of bells takes place, using specialist machinery, some of which is unique to bell manufacture. The present list description reads: 'Bell foundry. 1859, later 19th century, 1898 and early 20th century. Red brick and Welsh slate roofs. Various ranges of 1 and 2 storeys and 2 towers. Main range facing Freehold Street is of later 19th century and of 2 storeys. 6-window range of a 20-pane window to left and five 4-pane sash windows to centre right and right. On ground floor are 2 doorways and a large double doorway to left, four 24-pane windows to centre, two 4-pane sashes to centre right, then a double doorway and further 4-pane sash. All openings have brick cambered heads. Moulded brick string course, moulded brick eaves and brick parapet. On right end are various sash windows with margin lights. To far left a 4-stage tower dated 1898. This has a 9-pane window with stone Gibbs surround, and, above, a round window with stone surround with keystones. The third stage has 4 rusticated stone pilasters on each face, a stone cornice, and a parapet with curved top, stone coping and ball finials. The left side of the tower facing Cobden Street is similar with datestone in parapet. Further range facing Cobden Street has tall brick stack, irregular fenestration and a double doorway. Rear range facing Peel Drive (formerly Chapman Street) is dated 1859. A single-storey, 7-window range of 5 iron-framed 25-pane windows, and 2 similar 45-pane windows to left. Stone tablets inscribed J.V.T,1859. To the rear of the main range is an attached early 20th century tower of 3 stages with plain-tile hipped roof. The bottom stage has 2 sides open, being supported on an iron column and girders. Above these sides, on each face, are two 2-light leaded casements. The third stage is open, with timber framing between brick corner piers. Interior not inspected. History: the Taylor family, originally bell founders in St. Neots and elsewhere, came to Loughborough in 1839. In 1858 J.W.Taylor bought this site and began new foundry buildings. An engraved letterhead of pre-1886 shows the building existing then being similar in appearance to those existing at present including that part on the east side of Cobden Street (qv), with three stacks. The business prospered and is reported to have been at one time the largest bell foundry in the world. Here were cast bells for St Paul's Cathedral, London, including in 1881 'Great Paul', the largest bell in the former British Empire and the largest properly rung bell in the world. Bells and carillons have been exported from this foundry to all parts of the former Empire, USA, and Holland. It is one of the two operational bell foundries remaining in the country.'
The buildings are built of red brick with slate and transparent corrugated sheet roof coverings. The earliest surviving building (the original foundry of 1859) is sited at the south end of an original open yard, with a long building range forming the frontage to Cobden Street. This incorporates the tapering square chimney formerly associated with the steam engine and boiler installed in 1866, and a raised roof louvre. At the corner of Cobden Street and Freehold Street is the bell tower constructed in 1898 which contains a peal of ten bells. To the west is the frontage to the office range onto Freehold Street. This part of the bell foundry site includes the original foundry building, now used as the carpenters shop, the pattern store, fitting, turning and erecting shops, blacksmiths shop and the tuning shop. The tuning shop contains fixed bell-tuning machines specifically designed for the foundry, originally belt driven from line shafting. The fitting and turning shops contain lathes and planing and drilling machinery, whilst the carpenters shop and the forge house woodworking and smithy equipment. Above the carpenter's shop is a loft which now serves as the pattern store. Within the erecting shop and bell tuning areas are travelling cranes to facilitate the moving of large castings. These run on wall-mounted runners supported by cast-iron brackets or masonry piers. Although the furnaces of the original foundry area and their chimneys have been removed, their location is still marked by arched recesses in the north wall of the old foundry building. The reconstruction following the fire of 1891 saw the introduction of tensioned metal roof trusses in some parts of the site, notably in the erecting shop, but areas of earlier timber roof structures survive in the carpenter's shop, the erecting and tuning shop and the tuning room. To the west of these areas are the offices, strong room and the carillon tower. The two-storey Freehold Street elevation of the office range has sash windows set beneath brick-arched heads, a decorative brick string course between the storeys and a parapet with moulded terracotta copings. Much of the ground floor of the office area has been altered, but a late C19 turned baluster stair leads to first-floor rooms including a strong room, archive store and an office with fitted bookshelves and cupboards containing the company's order books and other historic documents. The carillon tower stands at the north-west angle of the junction of the tuning room and the turning and fitting shop. It is a distinctive Arts and Crafts design, with an open ground-floor stage, an enclosed first stage, and an open third stage beneath a tiled pyramidal roof topped by a weathervane. The open upper bell stage currently houses sixteen bells hung from a timber frame, but was originally designed to carry thirty-seven bells.
The complex of buildings on the west side of Cobden Street Loughborough forming part of Taylor's Bell Foundry is recommended for upgrading to Grade II* for the following principal reasons:
* HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE: The bellfoundry complex is representative of a form of metal working which has its origins in the medieval period, and relates to a very important element in the rituals of worship and the national consciousness.
* ARCHITECTURAL INTEREST: The buildings which make up the site are representative of all stages of the sites evolution throughout the C19, and include the original foundry building, now used as the carpenter's shop.
* RARITY: The buildings form part of the only purpose-built bellfoundry in England and of one of the country's two operational bellfoundries.
* COMPLETENESS: This part of the foundry site, together with the part to the west side of Cobden Street form a manufacturing complex in which all stages of bell manufacture, from bell mould making to bell tuning are represented.
* FIXTURES AND FITTINGS: The buildings which make up the foundry complex on both sides of Cobden Street retain machinery used in the casting, shaping and finishing of bells. Some machine tools are specific to the manufacture of bells and were designed for use in Taylor's bellfoundry where they remain in situ, as originally installed.
* GROUP VALUE: The complex has strong group value with its companion on the eastern side of Cobden Street.
This part of the bell foundry site is where the casting of bells and bell frames is carried out, together with the preparation and drying of moulds. The present list description reads: 'Bell foundry. Later 19th century. Red brick with blue brick dressings. Corrugated asbestos and Welsh slate roofs. 3 tall iron-braced lateral stacks and other stacks. L-plan with projecting range attached to rear right. Various ranges. Main range, facing Freehold Street, is set-back and is of a single high storey. 7-window range of 33-pane iron-framed windows with blue brick arched heads. The stacks are between these windows. Brick moulded and dentilled eaves and corrugated asbestos roof with full-length louvre. To left of this range a lower 3-window range of similar windows and Welsh slate roof. To right a 2-storey range, gable facing, with moulded brick eaves and corrugated asbestos roof. A 24-pane window, on ground floor, faces Freehold Street. Irregular fenestration on left side, and, on right side, facing Cobden Street, two 30-pane windows with brick cambered heads, and a double doorway. To rear of this range and attached by a brick wall and gateway with C20 steel gates is a further range of probably 1 high storey with moulded brick eaves, Welsh slate roof and coped gables. A double doorway faces Cobden Street. The rear of the main range is similar to the front with 1 window blocked and various blocked openings below the other windows. Interior not inspected. History: see description of that part on west side of Cobden Street (qv).'
The eastern complex of buildings is constructed of brick, with corrugated sheet and Welsh slate roof coverings. It is roughly L-shaped, with the main foundry hall and hand bell foundry aligned east-west, and its tall arch-headed double doorway at the west end on Cobden Street. To the north side of the foundry hall are the former fettling shop and pattern store, both areas now used as a site museum. The main foundry building has semi-circular arch-headed windows to the front and rear walls, the former set between the four metal-banded chimneys of the foundry furnaces. These openings and the three similar windows to the hand bell foundry have small-paned cast-iron frames. The end wall of the hand bell foundry has two broad chimney stacks, beyond which is a small enclosed yard in which are stored a number of cast-iron bell cases, including the four sections of the case used for the casting of the giant 'Great Paul' bell for St Paul's Cathedral. The foundry hall and attached museum building to the north incorporate the four now defunct original reverbatory furnaces whilst the smaller hand bell casting shop retains the crucible furnaces used to melt smaller quantities of metal. The south-western corner of the building contains a large drying stove used for the drying of the bell moulds. Spatially, the building is little changed, but the melting of metal is now carried out in a modern free-standing furnace, and transported to the casting pit in a ladle carried by a travelling crane. The main foundry is an open-plan area, with separate enclosed areas for the stove and the hand bell casting shop at the east end of the building. Its lightweight metal roof truss system was erected in 1927. There is a modern viewing gallery at the western end of the foundry hall, erected in 1985. The former fettling and pattern shops form part of the long Cobden Street elevation on the west side of the complex, together with the former loam mills and former laboratory, both now storage areas, to the south of the building's arched main entrance. Further south is a small enclosed storage yard, beyond which is the present girder store, formerly part of a much larger building identified as a timber store on a site plan of 1892, the greater part of which was demolished in the 1980s. The complex of buildings on the east side of Cobden Street Loughborough forming part of Taylors Bell Foundry is recommended for upgrading to Grade II* for the following principal reasons:
* HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE: The bellfoundry complex is representative of a specialised form of metal working which has its origins in the medieval period, and relates to a very important element in the rituals of worship and the national consciousness.
* ARCHITECTURAL INTEREST: The buildings which make up the site are representative of all stages of the site's evolution throughout the C19, and include the original foundry building, now used as the carpenter's shop.
* RARITY: The buildings form part of the only purpose-built bellfoundry in England and of one of the country's two operational bellfoundries.
* COMPLETENESS: This part of the foundry site, together with the part to the west side of Cobden Street form a manufacturing complex in which all stages of bell manufacture, from bell mould making to bell tuning are represented.
* FIXTURES AND FITTINGS: The buildings which make up the foundry complex on both sides of Cobden Street retain machinery used in the casting, shaping and finishing of bells. Some machine tools are specific to the manufacture of bells and were designed for use in Taylor's bellfoundry where they remain in situ, as originally installed.
* GROUP VALUE: The complex has strong group value with its companion on the western side of Cobden Street.

Sources

Associated Finds

None recorded

Designations

• Listed Building (II*) 1264685: TAYLOR'S BELL FOUNDRY (THAT PART ON WEST SIDE OF COBDEN STREET)
• Listed Building (II*) 1236293: TAYLOR'S BELL FOUNDRY (THAT PART ON EAST SIDE OF COBDEN STREET)

Associated Images

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