John Taylor & Co facts for kids

John Taylor Bell Foundry (Loughborough) Limited

The foundry premises in Freehold Street, Loughborough
Trade name	John Taylor & Co
Formerly	Taylors Eayre & Smith Limited (2005–2009)
Type	Subsidiary
Industry	Bellfounding
Founded	1784; 241 years ago (1784)
Founder	John Taylor
Headquarters	Loughborough, England
Key people	Michael Wilby 2019-2021 (MD)
Parent	UK Bell Foundries Ltd
Subsidiaries	John Taylor International

John Taylor & Co, often called Taylor's Bell Foundry, is the biggest working bell factory in the world. It's located in Loughborough, England. This amazing company has been making bells since the 14th century, with the Taylor family taking over in 1784.

The company creates many kinds of bells. They make huge bells for clock towers, sets of bells for a special kind of ringing called change ringing, and even musical instruments called chimes and carillons. In 2005, Taylor's joined with another company, but by 2009, they faced some financial challenges.

However, a group called UK Bell Foundries Ltd stepped in and saved the company. Since then, Taylor's has continued to make bells for places all over the UK and around the world.

The foundry also has a special museum. It's the only one in the UK dedicated to bells and how they are made. The buildings themselves are very old, dating back to the Victorian times, and are still used for their original purpose.

The Story of Taylor's Bell Foundry

Inside the bell tower of St Stephen's Church, Bristol, England. Taylor's made five of these twelve bells in 1970.

The history of Taylor's Bell Foundry goes back a long way, to the 1300s! The Taylor family became involved in 1784 with Robert Taylor. His son, John Taylor, started a bell factory in Loughborough in 1839. They moved to their current location in 1859.

Later in the 1800s, John William Taylor managed the foundry. Taylor's was the first bell maker to use a special "true-harmonic" tuning method. This made their bells sound even better. In 1963, Paul Taylor, the last family member in the business, even appeared on an American TV show to talk about making bells!

The foundry buildings on Freehold Street are very important. They are listed as "Grade II*" buildings, meaning they are historically special. Bell ringing teams from across England compete each year for "The Taylor Trophy."

In 2009, the company faced some money problems. But a group of bell ringers and investors formed UK Bell Foundries Ltd and bought the company. They reopened it on October 19, 2009, bringing back the name John Taylor & Co.

To protect the foundry for the future, the directors created the Loughborough Bellfoundry Trust in 2016. This trust now owns the buildings, equipment, and museum. This helps make sure that bell making can continue there for many years to come. The trust has even received grants to help restore parts of the old buildings.

In 2018, Taylor's started a new branch called John Taylor International in Australia. This helps them serve customers in the southern part of the world.

Amazing Bells Made by Taylor's

Taylor's Bell Foundry has made some truly incredible bells for places all over the globe. Here are just a few examples of their famous work:

• In 1881, they cast "Great Paul" for St Paul's Cathedral in London. This bell weighs over 17,000 kilograms (about 37,000 pounds)! It's the largest bell ever cast in Britain.
• The famous rock band AC/DC even used a 2,000-pound bronze bell made by Taylor's for their song "Hells Bells" during their 1980 tour.

Many churches and towers around the world have bells made by Taylor's. Here's a look at some of them:

Tower	Location	Details of bells cast	Largest bell cast (kg)	Year(s) of casting	Comments	Image
All Saints' Church, Westbury	Westbury, Wiltshire, UK	8 change ringing bells	1,784	1921	One of the heaviest sets of eight change ringing bells in the world.
Beverley Minster	Beverley, East Riding of Yorkshire, UK	10 change ringing bells	2,105	1896-1901	One of the heaviest sets of ten ringing bells in the world.
		bourdon bell "Great John"	7,151	1902
Buckfast Abbey	Buckfastleigh, Devon, UK	bourdon bell "Hosanna"	7,476	1936	One of the largest bells in the UK still rung by hand.
		14 change ringing bells	2,097	1935	The heaviest set of change ringing bells in a Catholic church.
Burton Memorial Tower	University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States	55 bell carillon	10,695	1936
Canberra National Carillon	Canberra, Australia	57 bell carillon	6,108	1968-2019	Taylor's cast a new, very large bass bell for this carillon in 2019.
Church of Our Lady and Saint Nicholas, Liverpool	Liverpool, Merseyside	14 change ringing bells	2,128	1952-2008	A new set of bells was made after the previous ones were destroyed in World War II.
Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin	Dublin, Ireland	9 change ringing bells, including the tenor bell	2,295	1884-1999	This cathedral has one of the largest change ringing setups in the world.
Duke Chapel Carillon	Duke University, Durham, North Carolina, USA	50 bell carillon	5,060	1932
Evesham Bell Tower	Evesham, Worcestershire	14 change ringing bells	1,813	1951-1992	This tower is famous for its bells, considered some of the foundry's best work.
Exeter Cathedral	Exeter, Devon, UK	5 change ringing bells including tenor bell "Grandisson"	3,684	1902-1922	This cathedral has the second heaviest set of bells for full circle ringing.
Hull Minster	Kingston upon Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire	15 change ringing bells, 25-bell carillon	1,304	1899-2016	One of the largest bell collections in the country.
Inveraray Bell Tower	Inveraray, Argyll & Bute, UK	10 change ringing bells	2,112	1920	This tower has the heaviest set of change ringing bells in Scotland.
Joseph Chamberlain Memorial Clock Tower	University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK	bourdon bell "Big Joe"	6,117	1908
Leeds Minster	Leeds, West Yorkshire	13 change ringing bells	2,057	1932	This is the second heaviest set of bells in Yorkshire.
Liverpool Anglican Cathedral	Liverpool, Merseyside, UK	bourdon bell "Great George"	14,900	1940	This is the third largest bell in the UK.
Loughborough Memorial Carillon	Loughborough, Leicestershire, UK	47 bell carillon	4,211	1923
Malta Siege Bell	Siege Bell Memorial, Valletta, Malta	bourdon bell	10,899	1992
Manchester Town Hall	Manchester, UK	23 bell carillon, including 13 change ringing bells	2,170	1937
		bourdon bell "Great Abel"	8,279	1882
Memorial Church of Harvard University	Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA	World War I memorial bell	"more than 7,000 pounds (3,200 kg)"	1926	This bell was restored in 2017.
Nottingham Council House	Nottingham, UK	5 clock bells including bourdon bell "Little John"	10,528	1928	This clock has the second deepest chime in the UK.
Rainbow Bridge Carillon	Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada	55 bell carillon	8,909	1947
Southwark Cathedral	Southwark, Greater London UK	2 change ringing bells	2,477	2016	Taylor's recast two bells and retuned others here in 2016.
St Andrew's Cathedral, Singapore	Singapore, Singapore	13 change ringing bells	1,297	1888-2019	This cathedral has the heaviest set of change ringing bells in Asia.
St Chad's Church, Shrewsbury	Shrewsbury, Shropshire	12 change ringing bells	2,010	1914	This was the first complete set of twelve "true-harmonic" bells made by Taylor's.
St George's Church, Vernet-les-Bains	Vernet-les-Bains, France	10 change ringing bells	261	2018-2019	This is the first and only set of change ringing bells in France.
St George's Church, Ypres	Ypres, Belgium	8 change ringing bells	323	2017	This is the first and only set of change ringing bells in Belgium.
St George-in-the-Pines	Banff, Alberta, Canada	11 bell chime		1926	This chime traveled through the Panama Canal to reach Canada.
St Mary Redcliffe	Bristol, UK	12+2 change ringing bells	2,575	1903-2012	This church has the heaviest set of full circle ringing bells in the world outside of a Cathedral.
St Mary's Church, Southampton	Southampton, Hampshire, UK	10 change ringing bells	1,096	1945	These bells replaced a previous set destroyed during World War II.
St Michael and All Angels' Church, Heavitree	Heavitree, Exeter, UK	8 change ringing bells	1,309	1897	These bells are protected because of their excellent quality.
St Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin	Dublin, Republic of Ireland	15 change ringing bells	2,307	1896-2007	This cathedral has the heaviest set of bells in Ireland.
St Paul's Cathedral, London	City of London, UK	3 clock bells and bourdon bell "Great Paul"	17,002	1878	Great Paul is the heaviest bell ever made by Taylor's.
		12 change ringing bells	3,125	1878	This is the 3rd heaviest set of change ringing bells in the world.
St Peter's Cathedral, Adelaide	Adelaide, Australia	8 change ringing bells	2,096	1946	This cathedral has the heaviest set of bells in Australia.
The Bok Tower	Lake Wales, Florida, USA	60 bell carillon	10,544	1927
Trinity Church, Manhattan	New York City, New York, USA	13 change ringing bells	1,214	2006-2016	This church has the first and only set of twelve change ringing bells in the United States.
Trinity Church, Ossett	Ossett, West Yorkshire, UK	16 change ringing bells	1,396	1934-2016	This church has the only "diatonic" set of fifteen change ringing bells in the world.
Truro Cathedral	Truro, Cornwall	14 change ringing bells, 4 clock bells	1,719	1904-2011	This is the first and only set of twelve bells in Cornwall.
Washington National Cathedral	Washington, D.C., USA	53-bell carillon	10,697	1963
Wells Cathedral	Wells, Somerset, UK	2 change ringing bells including tenor bell	2,864	1877	Its tenor bell is the 5th heaviest bell in the world for change ringing.
Wills Memorial Building	University of Bristol, Bristol, UK	bourdon bell "Great George"	9,724	1925	This is the second heaviest bell in the UK that is rung by hand.
Winchester Cathedral	Winchester, Hampshire	12 change ringing bells	1,806	1937	This cathedral has the heaviest set of bells in Hampshire.
Worcester Cathedral	Worcester, Worcestershire, UK	15 change ringing bells and bourdon bell	4,215	1868-1928	The ringing bells here are the 5th heaviest in the world.
Yale Memorial Carillon	Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, USA	54 bell carillon	6,078	1922
York Minster	York, North Yorkshire, UK	14 change ringing bells	3,020	1925-1978	This is the 4th heaviest set of change ringing bells in the world.
		35 bell carillon	1,215	1933-2008	This was the first UK Cathedral to have both a carillon and change ringing bells.
		bourdon bell "Great Peter"	11,009	1927	This is the deepest sounding hour bell in the UK.