Supporting British Industry & Craftsmanship
London's only remaining iron foundry, it is situated on the Regents Canal just off Mare Street, one of Hackney's busiest thoroughfares. It holds a vast pattern catalogue with designs dating back to the Victorian era. The foundry specialises in decorative, ornate ironwork working on bespoke commissions or recreating unique castings from existing pieces to restore and repair ironwork.
The business was founded as the Bee Hive Foundry by James Hoyle in 1880, and is currently in the hands of the fourth generation of the family. Over the years it has worked on varied commissions including a fireplace for Elton John, garden furniture for the Queen, and the railing heads at 10 Downing Street. Producing finely detailed balustrades and finials in nineteenth-century designs, the foundry's speciality in historical ironwork has given the family a thriving restoration business, allowing them to survive long after all of the East End's other small foundries have closed.
"I loved shooting at James Hoyle and Son as I had lived a stone's throw from the foundry but had never been in before. The building is covered in graffiti - a losing battle apparently - but still has the lovely original lettering on the facade. Inside is dark and hot with dramatic light streaming in from a couple of small windows on the canal side. A part from the mechanised overhead crane to move the crucible very little has changed in its 146 year history and its great to see the young generation taking on the work of their ancestors, making decorative ironwork in much the same way." Carmel King photographed James Hoyle & Son in January 2026 for The Archive.
