‘Big Ben’ is recast

‘Big Ben’ is recast

Did you know, the huge bell inside the Elizabeth Tower at Westminster, is called Big Ben?

However, it was only in 2012 that the tower was given its current name ‘The Elizabeth Tower’ ~ as an honour to Queen Elizabeth II, on her Diamond Jubilee.
Before that, it was very imaginatively named the Clock Tower.
The Elizabeth tower has a total of 399 steps.
That’s 334 to the belfry, and a further 65 to the lantern above it.

During completion of the original Clock Tower, Big Ben went through some rigorous testing.
It was during these tests, Big Ben cracked beyond repair, and a replacement had to be made.
The bell was recast on 10th April 1858, at the Whitechapel Foundry.
The second bell was transported from the foundry to the tower on a trolley drawn by sixteen horses, with crowds cheering its progress.
It was then pulled 200 ft up to the Clock Tower’s belfry, a feat that took 18 hours.
This new bell chimed for the first time on 11th July 1859.

So how did Big Ben, get its name?
Nobody really knows for sure, but there are two theories.
The first theory is that the bell was nicknamed ‘Big Ben’ after Sir Benjamin Hall, the first Director of Works.
He was a large man, and known around the house as Big Ben.
The second suggests that the clock was named after the heavyweight boxing champion at the time the tower and clock were built, Benjamin Caunt.
He was also nicknamed Big Ben.

The bell was seen as so important, that when it arrived in London it was brought down the Thames in a barge as Londoners flocked to watch.
Then, it was taken across Westminster Bridge in a carriage, drawn by sixteen white horses!!
There are 312 pieces of glass, in each of Big Ben’s clock dials.

Big Ben is old enough to have been standing through the reigns of six monarchs.
Big Ben’s clock face began ticking in 1859.
That takes us right back to Queen Victoria, who was queen from 1837-1901.
The first clock tower reported having been built where Westminster now stands, was constructed much earlier, in the 1290s.

There’s a Latin saying beneath Big Ben’s clock face.
It reads,
OMINE SALVAM FAC REGINAM NOSTRAM VICTORIAM PRIMAM.
Translated that means, ‘O Lord, keep safe our Queen Victoria the First’.
This motto isn’t updated for new monarchs, as it is part of Big Ben’s history.

Big Ben’s chimes were first broadcast by the BBC, or the British Broadcasting Company, in 1923.
You’ll still hear those chimes on the BBC today.
They are played before the News, and on New Years Eve, amongst other things.

Although usually extremely accurate, Big Ben has slipped up a couple of times, with its timekeeping.
In 1962, the winter was so cold that Big Ben was late to chime in the new year.
Snow and ice were so heavy, that the clock was once again weighed down, and rang in 1963 a full ten minutes late.
That must have been confusing for partying Londoners!

Once, a flock of starlings landed on the clock face’s big hand.
They were heavy enough to slow down Big Ben’s mechanism, knocking the clock off time.

In order to keep Big Ben’s chimes sounding at just the right moment, the clock has to be adjusted and wound.
Winding takes over an hour, and someone has to wind the clock three times a week.
On top of that, the pendulum is adjusted by adding old pennies. Each penny causes Big Ben to gain 0.4 seconds.