Tourist Attraction in London:
Big Ben

The Big Ben is the nickname of the largest bell clock tower on the northeast corner of the Westminster Palace, also known as the House of Parliament in London. Traditionally, the use of the name extended to the clock and to the 96-meter-high Neo-Gothic tower, which began in 1834 and ended in 1858. Known as Clock Tower, on the occasion of the Jubilee of Elizabeth II of June 2012 in the United Kingdom became officially the Elizabeth Tower. This tower plays every quarter of an hour, every half an hour and hour. Officially the bell name (one of five of the clock) is Great Bell. There is no telling about the origin of the name "Big Ben", but there are two theories about it. The former claims that the name comes from Sir Benjamin Hall, a member of the House of Commons, and as an engineer, supervisor of the work for the reconstruction of the Westminster Palace. The latter claims instead that the name derives from that of the boxing champion Benjamin Caunt, who fought his last meeting in 1857. It is thought that the bell was originally to be called Royal Victoria in honor of Queen Victoria. A first version of the 16-tonne bell was built by John Warner & Sons according to Edmund Beckett Denison's specifications, which had designed the clock's mechanisms along with George Biddell Airy on August 6, 1856, but fractured irreparably during the tests at the Palace Yard. This was how a new bell, 2.2m high, 2.9 wide and 13.76tonth heavy, was rebuilt in 1858 at Whitechapel Bell Foundry, reusing the metal of the previous one. The carriage of the bell over the few miles separating the foundry from Westminster with a 16-horse chassis was a great event celebrated by a wide audience. Clock bells first sounded on May 31, 1859. The Big Ben fractured in September of the same year, causing the use of a bigger hammer. After three years he was resettled. The damage, however, is the origin of its characteristic tone. At the time of the inauguration, the Big Ben was the largest bell of the British islands and remained until the inauguration in 1881 of the 17-ton "Great Paul" in the Cathedral of Saint Paul. At the base of each quadrant there is the Latin inscription: "DOMINE SALVAM FAC REGINAM NOSTRAM VICTORIAM PRIMAM", which means: O Lord, save our Queen Victoria I. The bells of the Big Ben copy the melody made by William Crotch for the tower of the Great St Mary's Church at Cambridge University. The English composer is inspired by a phrase of Händel's Messiah concerning Psalm 37 verses 23 and 24. The sound is a registered trademark and music can be heard up to 2 kilometers from the tower.

Attractions in London