The next task facing Denison was installing the bell.
It was soon known affectionately as Big Ben, possibly getting its name from Sir Benjamin Hall, First Commissioner for Works at the time. The Whitechapel FoundryĮventually the bell was broken up and a lighter bell recast by the Whitechapel Foundry. Everyone blamed everyone else for this, with the foundry accusing Denison of insisting on a hammer too big for the bell.
COOL FACTS ABOUT BIG BEN CRACK
It was hung in New Palace Yard temporarily but when tested in October 1857 an alarming 1.2m crack appeared. The original bell weighed a staggering 16 tonnes and was cast by Warners of Norton. These included four small bells to chime the quarter hours and a big bell to sound the hour each bell makes a different note and together they sound the famous Westminster Chimes, but making and hanging the main bell was to prove as challenging as making the clock.
COOL FACTS ABOUT BIG BEN SERIES
Biggest bell of its timeĪs well as a functioning clock the new tower also needed a series of bells. His clock was finished in 1854 at a cost of £2,500. This was considered impossible and it was only after a seven-year delay that an amateur clockmaker, Edmund Beckett Denison, came up with a design. The problem was compounded as one of the specifications for the new clock was that ‘it should be so accurate that the first strike of each hour shall be accurate to within one second’.
Once Barry had designed a clock tower he was faced with the challenge of findingĪ clockmaker capable of making a big enough clock to go inside his elegant new creation. The design for the current tower, known since 2012 as the Elizabeth Tower in honour of HM the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee, was only added a couple of years later, with the help of fellow architect Augustus Pugin. Do you know when Big Ben was built? Credit: AlamyĪrchitect Charles Barry’s original designs to replace the old Palace of Westminster, after the catastrophic fire of 1834, didn’t even include a clock tower. However, its journey to national treasure status has not been entirely easy. Dominating the Westminster skyline and the Houses of Parliament, it’s one of London’s most recognisable monuments. Its iconic chimes were first recorded by the BBC on New Year’s Eve in 1923 and are now recorded live by the BBC twice a day, every day, at 6pm and midnight.Īnd the clock itself, with its four, huge cast iron dials is equally famous. Since then it has become Britain’s most famous bell. So as work gets underway to restore the much-loved landmark, we thought it was time to ask: when was Big Ben built? The origins of London’s Big Benīig Ben – the name given to the great bell rather than the actual clock – was installed in the Palace of Westminster clock tower in 1859. Works include repairing the clock, as well as the fabric of the tower, and while the whole project is expected to take four years, the bongs will still sound as special events. Credit: UK Parliament It is a symbol of London the world over, but do you know the origins of Big Ben? If you’ve ever asked yourself, ‘when was Big Ben built?’ then read on for a potted history of our most famous landmarkīig Ben has been telling the time for Londoners since the mid 19th century and is now undergoing essential maintenance that has meant Big Ben’s bongs have fallen silent.
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