Rudhall of Gloucester

Rudhall of Gloucester was a family business of bell founders in the city of Gloucester, England, who between 1684 and 1835 produced over 5,000 bells.

There had been a tradition of bell casting in Gloucester since before the 14th century.

The family business was founded by Abraham Rudhall (1657–1736) who developed a method of tuning bells by turning on a lathe rather than the traditional chipping method with a chisel. One of the earliest ring of bells he cast was for St Nicholas' Church, Oddington in 1684. He came to be described as the greatest bell-founder of his age. The business was continued by his eldest son, also called Abraham (1680–1735), his son Abel (1714–60), and three of Abel's sons, Thomas (?1740–83), Charles (1746–1815) and John (1760–1835). In 1815 John Rudhall was declared bankrupt and the bell foundry bought by Mears & Stainbank who owned the Whitechapel Bell Foundry. The business formally closed in 1828 but bells bearing John's name have been found with dates up to 1835.

Several bells at Great Malvern Priory were cast by Rudhalls in the early 18th century.

Adlestrop where 4 bells cast by Abraham Rudhall in 1711 hang - unfortunately the bells are classified as unringable due to the poor state of the bell supports.

Six of the bells in Pershore Abbey were cast in 1729 by Abraham Rudhall.

Eight change ringing bells (tenor: 13 long cwt 3 qr 5 lb (1,545 lb or 701 kg) in F) at Old North Church in Boston were cast by Rudhalls in 1744 and hung in 1745. One bell has the inscription: "We are the first ring of bells cast for the British Empire in North America, A.R. 1744." Five bells cast by Abel Rudhall in 1757 still hang in Wells Cathedral.

Six bells, cast in 1714 by Abraham Rudhall, still hang at the Church of St Leonard, Middleton, Greater Manchester.

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