Grateful Days

By Nickimags888

Derelict Thursday - Roadside Pump

Ooh it's cold and grey again outside today so I haven't ventured far.
This is a an old pump just up the road from we were we live, and until I stated blipping it something I didn't really pay much attention to it. It used to be covered in ivy and brambles but now almost looks as good as new.
I had a look online and it appears to have been manufactured by John Warner & Sons of Cripplegate London, Brass and Bell Founders to Her Majesty.

John Warner & Sons were a family business established in 1763 with a continuous history of over two centuries. Warners cast bells for churches and Cathedrals across the world but they are also an integral part of the story of the Great Clock at Westminster and the largest bell ever cast in Britain at that time. They had a number of foundries at different locations in what was then called “the workshop of the world;” London. These sites included Cheapside, Cripplegate, Spitalfields and Fleet Street but the original hour bell for the Great Clock was cast at Stockton-on-Tees in 1856. The daunting task of not only casting a 16 ton bell but then transporting it to London created great publicity for the company which they exploited for years despite the fact that it cracked outside Westminster whilst being tested.
There were a number of factors resulting in the breaking of the bell; too heavy a hammer, a new mixture of bell metal, a new shape and the sheer size. However the broken bell was then recast by the Whitechapel Bell Foundry and finally installed in 1859 only to crack again after two months. The crack was cleverly repaired but Big Ben still has a slightly fluffy tone, which makes it so distinct.

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