Nicola Harley wrote that the oldest manufacturing firm in Britain is shutting down shop:

• The Whitechapel Bell Foundry, based in London, built the bell that tolls in Big Ben, and is behind other famous bells such as Philadelphia’s Liberty Bell.
• The company was founded in 1570, during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, and managed to survive almost 500 years.
• Quality is paramount to the company. It takes about 11 years between an inquiry being made and the final product being delivered. In one instance an order took an entire century.
• The foundry priced its big-scale bells in the £250,000 (US$320,000) range.
• But a lot of its business had turned into making small table bells, popularized by Downton Abbey, where it is used to ring for tea.

Read more about the company on The Telegraph.