Which London foundry cast the Liberty Bell, an enduring symbol featured in America250 history?

The Whitechapel Bell Foundry cast the Liberty Bell, an enduring symbol featured in America250 history.

The Pennsylvania Provincial Assembly ordered the bell from the London firm Lester and Pack in 1751. By the time the bell was made, the company was associated with what later became known as the Whitechapel Bell Foundry. It arrived in Philadelphia in 1752 for the Pennsylvania State House, now Independence Hall.

The bell cracked during testing or soon after arrival and was recast twice in Philadelphia by John Pass and John Stow. Their names appear on the bell, which also carries an inscription from Leviticus: “Proclaim LIBERTY Throughout all the Land unto all the Inhabitants Thereof.”

The Liberty Bell was not originally named that. It was known as the State House Bell, and the name Liberty Bell became popular in the nineteenth century, especially among abolitionists. It is also uncertain whether the bell rang when the Declaration was first read publicly in Philadelphia on July 8, 1776.