The Bells of Whitechapel by Adam Dant

The Critic’s limited edition print

Adam Dant introduces The Bells of Whitechapel:

“My print shows the historic significance of Britain’s oldest manufacturing business, across the globe and as a part of the deep fabric of London’s culture and community. “From St Mary le Bow, Cheapside, whose peal famously bestows the status of ‘cockney’ and was broadcast across occupied Europe as a clarion of freedom and liberty during the war, to St Clement Danes, the bells of the City churches ring out. Stories of famous bells, such as the Liberty Bell, are detailed around the border which is decorated with a bell-ringing diagram. “Beyond Big Ben and Great Tom, a map of the globe is dotted with locations of a few of the countless bells the Whitechapel Foundry has cast. Its history spans the reigns of 27 monarchs. Elizabeth II is depicted on her 2009 visit to this celebrated Whitechapel institution, in existence since the reign of Elizabeth I. “‘Oranges & Lemons’ has been updated to sing out the threat to the Whitechapel Bell Foundry of being ignominiously transformed into a boutique hotel with bell-casting reduced to the production of souvenir handbells in the lobby espresso bar.”