The Foundery (or Foundry), in

Moorfields Moorfields was an open space, partly in the City of London, lying adjacent to – and outside – its northern wall, near the eponymous Moorgate. It was known for its marshy conditions, the result of the defensive wall acting like a dam, i ...

, was the first London

foundry A foundry is a factory that produces metal castings. Metals are cast into shapes by melting them into a liquid, pouring the metal into a mold, and removing the mold material after the metal has solidified as it cools. The most common metals ...

for casting

brass Brass is an alloy of copper (Cu) and zinc (Zn), in proportions which can be varied to achieve different mechanical, electrical, and chemical properties. It is a substitutional alloy: atoms of the two constituents may replace each other wit ...

cannon A cannon is a large-caliber gun classified as a type of artillery, which usually launches a projectile using explosive chemical propellant. Gunpowder ("black powder") was the primary propellant before the invention of smokeless powder duri ...

for the British

Board of Ordnance The Board of Ordnance was a British government body. Established in the Tudor period, it had its headquarters in the Tower of London. Its primary responsibilities were 'to act as custodian of the lands, depots and forts required for the defence o ...

. The building subsequently served as the first Wesleyan Methodist house of worship, and an important meeting place for the early Methodist community. In 1778, the Methodist congregation was moved to the nearby purpose-built

Wesley's Chapel Wesley's Chapel (originally the City Road Chapel) is a Methodist church situated in the St Luke's area in the south of the London Borough of Islington. Opened in 1778, it was built under the direction of John Wesley, the founder of the Metho ...

City Road City Road or The City Road is a road that runs through central London. The northwestern extremity of the road is at Angel where it forms a continuation of Pentonville Road. Pentonville Road itself is the modern name for the eastern part of L ...

History

Cannon foundry

Also known as the King's FounderyArchived copy
/ref> or Bagley's Foundry (after its founder Matthew Bagley), it was built () in Windmill Hill (today Tabernacle Street) in

on the northern side of the

City of London The City of London is a city, ceremonial county and local government district that contains the historic centre and constitutes, alongside Canary Wharf, the primary central business district (CBD) of London. It constituted most of London f ...

. It supplied cannons for the nearby

Honourable Artillery Company The Honourable Artillery Company (HAC) is a reserve regiment in the British Army. Incorporated by royal charter in 1537 by King Henry VIII, it is the oldest regiment in the British Army and is considered the second-oldest military unit in the w ...

, but was closed in 1716 after a

steam explosion A steam explosion is an explosion caused by violent boiling or flashing of water or ice into steam, occurring when water or ice is either superheated, rapidly heated by fine hot debris produced within it, or heated by the interaction of molten ...

, caused by dampness in a mould, which killed Bagley and 16 others. A new cannon foundry was subsequently opened () on the Board of Ordnance's

Woolwich Woolwich () is a district in southeast London, England, within the Royal Borough of Greenwich. The district's location on the River Thames led to its status as an important naval, military and industrial area; a role that was maintained thro ...

site, southeast of London.

Wesleyan chapel

The building was later used from 1739 as the first Methodist chapel in London by John Wesley (a plaque in Tabernacle Street marks the nearby location). Wesley purchased the building's lease for £115, then spent a further £700–£800 on refurbishment costs, creating a chapel able to accommodate 1,500 people, plus a smaller meeting room. Wesley first preached in the building on 11 November 1739 and another leading Methodist Thomas Maxfield was there in 1742. This first Methodist chapel hosted the first Methodist conference in June 1744. The Foundery complex also provided a free

dispensary A dispensary is an office in a school, hospital, industrial plant, or other organization that dispenses medications, medical supplies, and in some cases even medical and dental treatment. In a traditional dispensary set-up, a pharmacist dispense ...

which opened in 1746 and the Methodists appointed an

apothecary ''Apothecary'' () is a mostly archaic term for a medical professional who formulates and dispenses '' materia medica'' (medicine) to physicians, surgeons, and patients. The modern chemist (British English) or pharmacist (British and North Amer ...

and a surgeon. The following year there was a free school with two masters teaching 60 children. In 1747 the complex gained a lending society and in 1748 there was an adjacent

almshouse An almshouse (also known as a bede-house, poorhouse, or hospital) was charitable housing provided to people in a particular community, especially during the medieval era. They were often targeted at the poor of a locality, at those from certain ...

. The Methodist society was moved to the nearby purpose-built

in 1778.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Foundry Foundries in the United Kingdom Government munitions production in the United Kingdom Industrial buildings in London Methodist churches in London Military history of London Dispensaries in London