Richard Phelps (bell-founder)

Richard Phelps (c.1670–1738) was born in Avebury, Wiltshire, England. Phelps was a bell-founder, or a maker of bells, primarily for churches. He was master of the Whitechapel Bell Foundry in London from 1701 to 1738, and is best known for his large bell, Great Tom, in the steeple of St Paul's Cathedral in London, England. The foundry, in operation since at least 1570, is listed by the Guinness Book of Records as the oldest manufacturing company in Great Britain.

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; All Hallows, Lombard Street; St Andrew, Holborn; and Cambridge (Great St Mary's), and there is still a bell at St Paul's Cathedral. It was customary for bell-founders 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:

TO PRAYERS WE DO CALL ST MICHAEL’S PEOPLE ALL WE HONOUR TO THE KIND AND JOY TO BRIDES DO SING / TRIUMPHS WE LOUDLY TELL AND RING THE DEAD MANS KNELL

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.

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 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 82 long hundredweight (9,200 lb; 4,200 kg).

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