Which London foundry cast the Liberty Bell for Pennsylvania’s State House?

The Whitechapel Bell Foundry cast the Liberty Bell for Pennsylvania’s State House.

The London business was then known as Lester and Pack. Pennsylvania commissioned the bell in 1751 to mark the 50th anniversary of William Penn’s 1701 Charter of Privileges. It arrived in Philadelphia in 1752 after crossing the Atlantic.

The bell cracked during testing, so Philadelphia founders John Pass and John Stow recast it twice. The inscription on the finished bell includes a quotation from Leviticus: “Proclaim LIBERTY Throughout all the Land unto all the Inhabitants Thereof.” The inscription also records the year 1753.

The Liberty Bell was not originally named that. Its association with American independence grew much later, especially during the nineteenth century. The Whitechapel Bell Foundry, which operated for centuries in London, also cast or recast other famous bells, including the original Big Ben bell. The foundry closed in 2017.