Richard Phelps (c.1670–1738) was born in

Avebury Avebury () is a Neolithic henge monument containing three stone circles, around the village of Avebury in Wiltshire, in southwest England. One of the best known prehistoric sites in Britain, it contains the largest megalithic stone circle in ...

Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated Wilts) is a historic and ceremonial county in South West England with an area of . It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset to the southwest, Somerset to the west, Hampshire to the southeast, Gloucestershire ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

. Phelps was a bellfounder, or a maker of bells, primarily for churches. He was master of the

Whitechapel Bell Foundry The Whitechapel Bell Foundry was a business in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. At the time of the closure of its Whitechapel premises, it was the oldest manufacturing company in Great Britain. The bell foundry primarily made church bells ...

in London from 1701 to 1738, and is best known for his large bell, Great Tom, in the steeple of

St Paul's Cathedral St Paul's Cathedral is an Anglicanism, Anglican cathedral in London and is the seat of the Bishop of London. The cathedral serves as the mother church of the Diocese of London. It is on Ludgate Hill at the highest point of the City of London ...

in London, England. The foundry, in operation since at least 1570, was listed by the ''

Guinness Book of Records ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a reference book published annually, listing worl ...

'' as the oldest manufacturing company in Great Britain.

Whitechapel foundry owner

Little is known of Phelps before he became owner of Whitechapel. He took over the foundry on the death of the former foundry owner James Bartlett in January, 1701. Phelps remained as the head of the foundry for thirty-seven years, during which time the business grew to be the most successful in the kingdom. The bells that the foundry made were installed in many locations across England. Among his most well-known bells used to be hung in the steeples of St Michael-upon-Cornhill;

St Magnus the Martyr St Magnus the Martyr, London Bridge, is a Church of England church and parish within the City of London. The church, which is located in Lower Thames Street near The Monument to the Great Fire of London, is part of the Diocese of London and u ...

; All Hallows, Lombard Street;

St Andrew, Holborn The Church of St Andrew, Holborn, is a Church of England church on the northwestern edge of the City of London, on Holborn within the Ward of Farringdon Without. History Roman and medieval Roman pottery was found on the site during 2001/02 ...

; and Cambridge (Great St Mary's), and there is still a bell at

. It was customary for bellfounders to add an inscription to their bells. Phelps’ inscriptions were typically much longer than his predecessors. For example, the following inscription used to appear on the tenth bell of St Michael-upon-Cornhill until it was recast in 2011: The Whitechapel foundry was very prosperous under the ownership of Richard Phelps. Lukis cites the inscription on the tenor bell at Avebury, Wilts, ''Richard Phelps, London, Nat. par. hujus 1719'' as indicating Phelps was born there.

Bells for St Paul's Cathedral

Phelps’ most famous bell is Great Tom at St Paul's Cathedral in London, England. The history of this bell began long before Phelps’ involvement with it. In 1698,

King William III William III (William Henry; ; 4 November 16508 March 1702), also widely known as William of Orange, was the sovereign Prince of Orange from birth, Stadtholder of Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht, Guelders, and Overijssel in the Dutch Republic from the ...

gave the bells from St Stephen's Chapel to the newly rebuilt St Paul’s. The largest of these bells was originally called ''Edward I'' or ''Edward of Westminster'', and was later known as ''Great Tom of Westminster''. The name "Great Tom" is thought to be a corruption of ''grand ton'', referencing its deep, sonorous tone. It then weighed . In 1699, while the bell was being moved to St Paul’s, it fell off its carriage and was cracked. Bell Yard at Temple Bar received its name from this event. The bell remained in a shed in the yard of St Paul's Cathedral until 1708 when it was recast by Philip Wightman at a weight of approximately and hung in the south west tower. The recasting was a failure. In 1709, Richard Phelps cast a new bell, which was delivered to the Cathedral before the old one was taken away, but the new bell also failed. Nine years later Phelps was given the job of recasting it once again. The present bell is described by Phelps’ successors Charles and George Mears as being in diameter, , and with thickness at sound bow , and weighing . The larger part of the metal of which it is made came from ''Great Tom of Westminster''. It bears the inscription: The bell, which hangs in the South West Tower of the cathedral is “only used for tolling the hour, and for tolling at the death and funeral of a member of the royal family, the

Bishop of London A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

, the Dean of the Cathedral, or the Lord Mayor”. An exception was made for the death of American President

James Garfield James Abram Garfield (November 19, 1831 – September 19, 1881) was the 20th president of the United States, serving from March 4, 1881 until his death six months latertwo months after he was shot by an assassin. A lawyer and Civil War gene ...

. In 1717, Richard Phelps cast two more bells that were added as quarter jacks. Still in use today, the first weighs , is in diameter and is tuned to A flat; the second weighs and is in diameter and is tuned to E flat.

Other churches

He cast a large number of bells for London churches, including the tenor bell at St Margaret's Church in

West Hoathly West Hoathly is a village and civil parish in the Mid Sussex District of West Sussex, England, located south west of East Grinstead. In the 2001 census 2,121 people, of whom 1,150 were economically active, lived in 813 households. At the 201 ...

West Sussex West Sussex is a county in South East England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the shire districts of Adur, Arun, Chichester, Horsham, and Mid Sussex, and the boroughs of Crawley and Worthing. Covering an ...

, which is inscribed: On 5 September 1726, Richard Phelps and church wardens James Smith and Charles Ball of

St Dionis Backchurch St Dionis Backchurch was a parish church in the Langbourn ward of the City of London. Of medieval origin, it was rebuilt after the Great Fire of London to the designs of Christopher Wren and demolished in 1878. Early history The church of St ...

reached an agreement for a set of eight new bells and frames. Included in the deal was the exchange of the old bells. The agreement was later amended to include two more bells and frames. The bells at St Magnus the Martyr, London Bridge were formed a ring of ten with a tenor of . Succeeding a ring of five, the back eight were cast in 1714 by Richard Phelps, ten years after the spire was built, and the trebles very soon after. These bells were scrapped in 1976.

Last bell cast

The last bell bearing Phelps’ name was the priests’ bell at St George's Cathedral, Southwark in

Southwark Southwark ( ) is a district of Central London situated on the south bank of the River Thames, forming the north-western part of the wider modern London Borough of Southwark. The district, which is the oldest part of South London, developed ...

, inscribed: Phelps died in 1738, and the order for this bell was completed by his foreman Thomas Lester, to whom he bequeathed his business and the lease of the foundry.

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