I took a trip to the Taylor’s Bell Foundry in Loughborough, Leicestershire, for a tour of the biggest and last remaining bell foundry of its type in the country. John Taylor arrived in Loughborough in 1839 with a vision to shape the soundscape of communities worldwide with their bells. John Taylor & Co. is not just the country’s last remaining bell foundry, but also a living link between tradition and innovation in bellmaking today. I took a "Casting Tour" around the site to see how centuries of tradition and skills passed through generations come together to create the bells we know so well in our churches and towns. We begin looking at the red brick buildings of the factory with the clanging soundtrack of industry in the background. Into the newly opened museum next, and the bell is rung to start our visit. In the casting hall, the roaring furnace is being prepared for casting later in the day. Into the workshop, and the clappers that give the bells their sound are being made and sprayed in the trademarked red of the foundry. A wide shot of the foundry shows a scene largely unchanged for over 100 years, with various bells being worked on. In the hand bell workshop, many different-sized hand bells line the shelves. Then, through a door, the tuning area sees several golden upturned bells being tuned and restored for installation in the town’s Carillon tower. Back to the casting hall now, and the furnace is ready for casting the head stocks for the bells. We see the molten metal being poured into the crucible with sparks flying and then transported over to the moulds. After casting, the excess is poured away, and the crucible returned to the furnace..
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