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Works complete on Britain’s last major bellfoundry in Loughborough

Image: Taylor’s Bellfoundry New Courtyard (c) Katelyn Collins

Restoration of ‘Taylors’ preserves heritage, modernises facilities, and expands its museum to showcase the foundry’s history.

Construction works to prevent the closure of the Grade II* Listed buildings and onsite museum at Taylor’s Bellfoundry in Loughborough – the last bellfoundry of its kind in Britain – are now complete.

The construction works have seen the restoration and modernisation of the Bellfoundry buildings – used to cast and restore bells – and the redevelopment of the site’s museum.

Built in 1859, the bellfoundry is on the edge of Loughborough town centre, and has cast more than 25,000 bells in its history which now hang in London’s St Paul’s Cathedral, the Washington National Cathedral, Australia’s National Carillon in Canberra, and South Africa’s Cape Town City Hall.

Construction began last spring with stripping out of the existing museum and replacing the leaking roof. Further works included the restoration of the original historic entrance to the site, and the relandscaping of the Carillon Courtyard.

Images: © Katelyn Collins

The museum has since its increased footprint, with two primary spaces; a ground floor timeline detailing the history of both the bellfoundry and the art of bellfounding, and the Patternmaker’s Gallery, which displays a series of objects that have been recovered from existing foundry spaces in the original workshop.

Funding for the project has come primarily from The National Lottery Heritage Fund and the Loughborough Town Deal.

Trustee of Loughborough Bellfoundry Trust, Andrew Wilby, thanked the project’s funders, adding: “Our aim to restore, enhance and protect the bellfoundry is now complete – and not only is it safe and secure – we now have a modern and engaging new museum which will pass on the history, importance and the magic of this place to people of all ages for many years to come.”