When fire destroyed the palace of Westminster in 1834, Britain ’s politicians held a competition. Who would submit the best design for a new parliament building? The winning entry by Sir Charles Barry was an ornate, Gothic-style palace that included an imposing four-sided clock tower. The office of works commissioned “a king of clocks, the biggest the world has ever seen”.
This clock is one of London ’s famous landmarks, and its distinctive chimes are recognized world wide. Big Ben is its name-although that name originally referred only to its largest bell. The world famous clock is a marvel of engineering.
A DAUNTING TASK
Work on the 96 meter clock tower began in 1843. Three years later the search was on for a craftsman who could build a clock so accurate that it would not vary by more than a second each hour. The task was daunting. In a high open tower, the clock’s hands would e exposed to wind, snow, and ice-as well as alighting pigeons! Such disturbances would affect the clock’s pendulum, whose regular beat was vital to precise time-keeping. While experts debated how to solve the problems, horologist Edmund Beckett Dennison presented an acceptable design, and a leading clock maker was given the task of building the clock.
After two years the clock was ready, but it languished in the clockmaker’s workshop for five more years while work on the tower was being completed. During that time, Denison invented a device that protected the pendulum from outside interference, ensuring the clock’s accuracy.
BIG BEN IS BORN
With the clock mechanism ready, the next step was to make the bells. A foundry in north east England cast the hour bell. It was much larger than anticipated and weighed more than 16 tons! The bell was so heavy that it damaged the deck of the ship that was to carry it to London . In time, the ship made the journey. Once on land, the bell was eventually transported in a specially made carriage that was pulled by 16 horses. Then it was hung on a frame in front of parliament, where it could be tested.
Many large bells have names, and this enormous bell was dubbed BIG BEN. Why? No one is sure. Some say that the bell may have been named after Sir Benjamin Hall, a large man who worked for parliament. Other suggests that the bell took its name from Benjamin Caunt, a well-known heavy weight boxer of the time. Whatever its origin Big Ben-no longer the name of just the hour bell-now commonly refers to the entire clock and tower.
DISASTER STRIKES TWICE
Big Ben’s first hammer seemed to be too light, so a huge 660-kilogram hammer replaced it. After months of testing, however, disaster struck. The bell cracked and could not be repaired. Big Ben had to be dismantled. The metal in the bell was melted and then recast into a bell that weighed 13.7 tons. Once again, crowds lined the streets as a carriage bore the new bell to the Houses of parliament.
A few months later, the tower was ready. Several teams of men worked tirelessly to which Big Ben up and into the bells that were to sound the quarter hours. The heavy clock mechanism followed at long last, the “king of clocks” was ready for action-or so it seemed.
In July 1859, Big Ben began striking the hour. But the triumph was short-lived. At the beginning of October the great bell cracked again! Removing the bell from the tower was out of the question. Instead workers rotated the bell by a quarter turn so that the hammer would not hit the crack. Then, to prevent future disasters, a lighter hammer was installed. Within three years Big Ben was back in business! The crack remains, and it is what gives the bell its distinct bong.
