Clocking the Clocks As we all know, there’s a general election in the UK on 4th July, which means the Houses of Parliament and Big Ben are featuring prominently in the news. It’s interesting to cast our minds back to just five years ago when the clock was restored with its four magnificent faces, showing hands and dials in Prussian blue, the original Victorian colour of choice. Technically, Big Ben is the name given to the massive bell inside the clock tower, which weighs more than 13 tons (13,760 kg). The Palace of Westminster was destroyed by fire in 1834. In 1844, it was decided the new buildings for the Houses of Parliament should include a tower and a clock. You will find here a link to Edmund Beckett Denison who created the revolutionary double three-legged gravity escapement for the new clock. Big Ben first pealed out across Westminster on 31st May 1859. A short time later, in September 1859, Big Ben cracked. A lighter hammer was fitted, and the bell was rotated to present an undamaged section to the hammer. This is the bell as we hear it today. Each of Big Ben’s four dials is seven metres in diameter. The minute hands are 4.2 metres long (14ft) and weigh about 100kg (220lbs) including counter weights. The numbers are approximately 60cm (23in) long and there are 312 pieces of glass in each clock dial. Timekeeping is strictly regulated by a stack of coins placed on the huge pendulum. The chimes of Big Ben were first broadcast by the BBC on 31st December 1923, a tradition that continues to this day. The Latin words under the clock face read DOMINE SALVAM FAC REGINAM NOSTRAM VICTORIAM PRIMAM, which means "O Lord, keep safe our Queen Victoria the First". In June 2012 the House of Commons announced that the clock tower was to be renamed the Elizabeth Tower in honour of Queen Elizabeth II's Diamond Jubilee. If you would like us to feature a public clock in your locality, please drop us a line here.
