Gillett & Johnston

[1] The company's most successful and prominent period of activity as a bellfounder was in the 1920s and 1930s, when it was responsible for supplying many important bells and carillons for sites across Britain and around the world.

A successor company continues operation in Bletchingley, Surrey, under the Gillett & Johnston name, engaged in clock-making and clock and carillon repair.

The company traced its roots to a clockmaking business established by William Gillett in Hadlow, Kent, in the early 19th century.

In 1837, Gillett moved his business to Clerkenwell, London; and in 1844 to the site in what later became known as Union Road, West Croydon, which would remain its home for the next 113 years.

In 1877, Arthur A. Johnston (c.1851–1916) bought a partnership, and shortly afterwards extended the company's output by establishing a bell foundry.

[5] During the First World War, the factory suspended its regular business and became involved in the manufacture of munitions, employing over 1,250 men and women.

[4] However, it experienced financial difficulties, caused in part by changing architectural tastes, and a falling-off in demand for traditional tower clocks and cast bells.

In 1868 a tall clock tower was built as a "working advertisement", and to provide a facility in which newly cast bells could be tested: this became a prominent local landmark.