Manufacturer Blake, W J

Customs House/Defence (W. Ont.) Headquarters Bell

Date1873

DimensionsOverall: 60 x 60 cm

Credit LineOn loan from the Department of Public Works, 1971

Object number1971.011.001

Label TextThis bell, cast by William Blake in 1873, hung in London’s Custom House, later defense headquarters for Western Ontario. Architect William Robinson designed the building, which opened in 1873, the same year as the bell was cast. The bell was removed prior to the building being demolished in the early 1970s. As for William Blake, he had apprenticed with Paul Revere and was associated with a number of metal casting companies between 1820 and 1890. This bell bears the inscription: "William Blake & Co. Formerly H.N. Hooper and Co.; Boston, Mass.; A.D. 1873."

NameBell