Open House Festival 2025
Founders’ Hall at Open House Festival 2025
This September, Founders’ Hall opened its doors for the fourth year running as part of Open House Festival, the annual celebration that allows the public to explore London’s most distinctive buildings and discover their history and purpose. The festival gives livery companies like the Founders an opportunity to share their heritage and living traditions with a wide audience, many of whom may never have visited a hall before.
On Saturday 13 September, 324 visitors came to see the unusual and distinctive interior of Founders’ Hall. They were able to view items from the Company’s archive, explore a dressing-up box, and try hands-on activities such as stamping their own bookmark with the Founders’ seal press or designing their own shield inspired by the Company’s heraldry. A rotation of videos explained the modern casting industry, complemented by interpretation boards and volunteers from the Company who were on hand to answer questions.
The Hall opened again on Friday 19 September as part of Bartholomew’s Fayre, welcoming 137 people, and on Saturday 20 September, when a record 498 visitors came through the doors.
Handbell ringing was the main theme in the parlour on the 19 and 20th including the Ancient Society of College Youths who gave a demonstration of change ringing and the Handbell Ringers of Great Britain who offered visitors the chance to try ringing with fun easy tunes, which proved very popular and engaging. The addition of a handbell-themed photo frame helped create a memorable experience for families and visitors of all ages. Thank you to the Master and Consort, and Sandra and Martin (pictured) for being there all day Saturday with such great enthusiasm.
The event would not have been possible without the support of volunteers from Open House and from the Founders’ Company and The Handbell Ringers of Great Britain. Their presence ensured that visitors had an engaging and informative experience, whether discovering the history of casting or learning to ring Whitechapel Handbells.
With over 950 visitors across three days, this year marked a record for Founders’ Hall. Open House Festival remains a valuable platform for the Company to connect with the public, raise awareness of its work, and highlight the continuing relevance of livery companies in the 21st century. The Company looks forward to taking part again in 2026 and encourages members and their families to get involved.