Big Ben in popular culture<\/h2>\n\n\n\n Big Ben’s Clock Tower has appeared in many films, most notably in the 1978 version of The Thirty-Nine Steps, in which the hero attempts to halt the clock’s progress by hanging from the minute hand of Big Ben’s western face; thus, preventing the detonation of a cunningly placed bomb and saving humanity as we know it!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Some surveys have found that Big Ben is the most popular landmark in the United Kingdom. Big Ben has also been voted the ‘Most Iconic London Film Location’. All we know is, that Big Ben remains a true symbol of London Big Ben’s beauty has stood the test of time for 180 years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And it’s not a bad place to head for when you need to re-set your watch!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Big Bong Theory<\/h2>\n\n\n\n OK so you want to know everything there is to know about Big Ben’s bells and Big Ben’s ‘bongs’, you asked for it!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Take an extra shot of espresso in your latte and make yourself comfortable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2022 Big Ben’s main bell and the largest bell in the tower is officially known as the Great Bell.
Why is it called “Big Ben”?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n The bell was never officially named, but the person responsible for commissioning the bell was Sir Benjamin Hall. This may be the origin of Big Ben’s name.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Another theory for the origin of Big Ben’s name is that the bell may have been named after a heavyweight boxer of the day, Benjamin Caunt. On balance, we prefer to think Big Ben was synonymous with a heavyweight boxer than a wimpish public servant!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Since the tower that was itself to become known as Big Ben was not yet finished, the bell was mounted in New Palace Yard, Westminster. The bell was then transported to the tower on a trolley drawn by sixteen horses, with crowds cheering its progress<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As fate would have it, the Big Ben bell cracked beyond repair while being tested and a replacement had to be made. The new bell was recast at the Whitechapel Bell Foundry weighing in at 13\u00bd tons.Big Ben in the 1890s<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\nCasting the Great Bell <\/h2>\n\n\n\n At the time of its casting, Big Ben was the largest bell in the United Kingdom. It remained so until 1881 until “Great Paul”, a 16\u00be ton bell currently hung in St. Paul’s Cathedral, was cast.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The new Big Ben bell was hauled 200ft up to the Clock Tower’s belfry, a feat that took 18 hours. The bell is 2.2 metres tall and 2.9 metres wide. Big Ben’s new bell first chimed, or ‘bonged’, in July 1859.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Big Ben cracking under the hammer<\/h2>\n\n\n\n As fate would again have it, the new Big Ben bell also cracked under the hammer, a mere two months after it officially went into service.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Accusations flew from the foundry that a hammer had been used on the Great Bell that was more than twice the maximum weight specified.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For three years the Big Ben bell was taken out of commission and the hours were struck on the lowest of the quarter bells until the Great Bell was reinstalled.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
To make good the repair, a square piece of metal was chipped out from the rim around the crack, and the Big Ben bell gave an eighth of a turn so the new hammer struck in a different place.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Big Ben has chimed with an odd twang (or barmy bong?) ever since and is still in use today complete with the ancient crack.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We’re sure that Big Ben’s imperfections go unnoticed today by the tens of millions of ears that tune in to Big Ben’s glorious chimes, literally around the clock!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That’s the end of our talking a lot of ‘bells’.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Let’s hope the double espresso shot got you to the end!<\/p>\n\n\n\nTram heading towards Big Ben on Westminster Bridge <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\nBig Ben – London’s Timepiece<\/h2>\n\n\n\n Is Big Ben the most famous clock in the world? Who wouldn’t be familiar with those huge clock faces and those rib-shaking, hourly ‘bongs’?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Somebody who’s never seen the BBC perhaps, or ITV’s ‘News at Ten’?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Big Ben clock tower is a place that London’s tourists flock to and it’s one of London, and indeed the’ UK s most popular attractions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Certainly, Big Ben’s clock is famous for its reliability\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Installing the pendulum<\/h2>\n\n\n\n The pendulum is installed within an enclosed windproof box sunk beneath the clock room. It is 3.9m long, weighs 300 kg and beats every 2 seconds. Big Ben’s clockwork mechanism is in a room below and weighs 5 tons.Bomb damage in 1940<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\nDamage during World War 2<\/h2>\n\n\n\n During the Blitz, the Palace of Westminster (also known as the Houses of Parliament) was hit by German bombing, on 10 May 1941, a bombing raid damaged two of Big Ben’s clockfaces and sections of the tower’s stepped roof. Bombs also destroyed the House of Commons chamber. Despite the heavy bombing Big Ben’s clock ran accurately and chimed throughout the Blitz.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Big Ben being out of service<\/h2>\n\n\n\n Like most of us, Big Ben has had a few ‘hiccups’ during its 180-year lifetime.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\nIn 1916, for two years during the First World War, Big Ben’s bells were silenced, and the clock face darkened at night to prevent an attack by German Zeppelins.<\/li>\n\n\n\n During the Second World War, from the beginning of September 1939, although Big Ben’s bells continued to ring, the clock faces were darkened at night to prevent guiding enemy pilots to central London (the Blitz).<\/li>\n\n\n\n On New Year’s Eve 1962, Big Ben’s clock slowed due to heavy snow and ice on the long hands, causing the pendulum to detach from the clockwork mechanism. It is designed to do this in such circumstances, the objective being to avoid serious damage elsewhere in the mechanism. The pendulum continued to swing freely but Big Ben chimed in the new year 10 minutes late!<\/li>\n\n\n\n The first and only major breakdown of Big Ben’s clock occurred on 5 August 1976. The speed regulator of Big Ben’s chiming mechanism finally broke after 100+ years of torsional fatigue. This resulted in the fully-wound 4-ton weights applying all their energy into Big Ben’s chiming mechanism in one go.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\nA great deal of damage was caused, and Big Ben’s Great Clock was shut down for a total of 26 days over nine months. The clock was reactivated on 9 May 1977 resulting in the longest break in its operation since Big Ben’s clock was built.<\/li>\n\n\n\n On 27 May 2005, Big Ben’s clock stopped at 10:07 pm local time. This may have been due to the hot weather (temperatures in London had reached an unseasonal 31.8 \u00b0C (90 \u00b0F)). Big Ben’s clock restarted but stopped again at 10:20 pm local time and remained still for about 90 minutes before starting again.<\/li>\n\n\n\n On 29 October 2005, the mechanism of Big Ben’s clock was stopped for about 33 hours, the lengthiest maintenance shutdown in 22 years.<\/li>\n\n\n\n On 5 June 2006, Big Ben’s “Quarter Bells” were taken out of commission for four weeks to repair a bearing holding one of the quarter bells, damaged from years of wear and tear.<\/li>\n\n\n\n A 6-week stoppage for maintenance of Big Ben’s clock started on 11 August 2007. Bearings in the clock’s drive train and the “Great Bell” striker were replaced, for the first time since installation.<\/li>\n\n\n\n During the maintenance works, the clock of Big Ben was not driven by the original mechanism, but by an electric motor.<\/li>\n\n\n\n In 2017, the government announced it would start a four-year restoration process, \u201cfrom the gilt cross and orb at its tip to the bottom of its 334-step staircase\u201d. <\/li>\n\n\n\n The \u00a380 million undertaking is the most expensive and most complex conservation project in the tower\u2019s history.<\/li>\n\n\n\n In 2022 the restoration came to completion after exceeding the deadline and running over budget. The scaffolding was finally removed showing the clock’s iconic dials to their original colour – Prussian blue – after experts discovered the shade under layers of black paint. <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\nOK, so Big Ben has had a few ‘issues’ down the years but how iconic, how reliable, and how uplifting to know the old fellow is there! For more than 180 years, Big Ben has stood proudly over the Houses of Parliament, the UK’s seat of government.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Big Ben is like an old friend to Londoners and London visitors. Big Ben was here before us and will still be here after we are just a memory. And the regular chimes of our old friend every 15 minutes are a constant reminder to all of us that time waits for no man.<\/p>\n\n\n\nHorseferry Playground<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\nTaking young kids sightseeing in London? Check out Horseferry Playground<\/a> right next to the Palace of Westminster on the Thames Path. It’s a great little playground perfect for pre-school kids to have a break from the busy streets of London. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Are you looking for some fun and educational activities to do with your kids while visiting London? If so, you might want…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":34800,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[192,203,220,193],"tags":[53,156,157,218],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/londonducklings.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29850"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/londonducklings.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/londonducklings.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/londonducklings.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/londonducklings.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=29850"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/londonducklings.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29850\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":34801,"href":"https:\/\/londonducklings.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29850\/revisions\/34801"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/londonducklings.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/34800"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/londonducklings.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=29850"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/londonducklings.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=29850"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/londonducklings.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=29850"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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