Harrington’s started making bells in the Butts in the 1890s, moving to more spacious premises on Clarendon Street, Earlsdon in 1900. They made bells for all purposes — from large church bells to small door chimes — constructed of metal tubes suspended from a wooden frame. Their advertisement claimed the bells gave “notes of marvellous purity and sweetness of tone” at a fraction of the price of conventional bells. Harry Weston, one-time Mayor of Coventry, remembered hearing them with pleasure, having been born on the opposite side of Clarendon Street.
The First World War affected Harrington’s as it did so many businesses, and by 1920 the firm moved to smaller premises on Hearsall Common. The Clarendon Street site was soon taken over by others: the 1920 Trade Directory shows the Caesar Cycle Co, W Jones Cycle and Motor Exporter, and the Stelfen Belt Co Ltd all sharing the premises. But the cycle boom was over, and the site was then taken by the Clarendon Pressing and Welding Company Ltd, which made parts for motorcycles, the motor car industry, and for Courtaulds. Their lorries were a regular sight on Clarendon Street until 1962.
In 1962 DBS (Direct Bedding Supply, formed in Kenilworth) moved in, expanded quickly, and remained until 2010. The site has since been redeveloped for housing and is now known as Bell Walk.