One of the most known sights and also a symbol of London, the tower with hours which is a part of the Westminster palace - the building where the well-known English parliament sits is considered. Sometimes absolutely mistakenly it is considered that this tower carries the name "Big Ben". Actually only the biggest bell in the difficult clockwork so is called.
History of the most famous clock
The Westminster palace was partially destroyed by the fire in 1834. Ten years later the decision was made not only to rebuild lacking, but also to make it on the new project which included a tower with hours. Construction of the building was begun on September 28, 1843.
The design of hours was developed by the royal watchmaker Benjamin Lewis Valyami, but he thought up only their appearance, business reached the clockwork only in 1846. The competition with very severe conditions was announced, of these hours demanded really royal accuracy. Seven years later the victory was gained by the project of the astronomer of Her Majesty and keen watchmaker George Ayri. Edward John Dent has to construct the hours invented by it. He also found out that the tower is small for the designed mechanism. It caused new delays, and alterations of the ready building cost additional 100 pounds sterling (about 70 thousand pounds to modern measures). Hours were finalized at the beginning of 1859, but "went" only in May.
Initially shooters on hours were made of cast iron, but the weight of alloy did not allow them to show the exact time and they were replaced with easier, copper.
The bell, received later the name "Big Ben" also began to sound far not at once. First, cast in 1856, the bell for the Westminster hours, waiting for "the place" was hung up in New Palas Yard and, without having worked also years, cracked. Was decided to make the second bell cast on replacement slightly less, instead of 16 tons it weighed 13.5, but even the facilitated option had to be lifted to "duty station" within thirty hours. The first time a big bell on the Westminster hours gave a vote on July 11, 1859.
In September, 1859 Big Ben cracked and "was silent" four years until Ayri thought up to facilitate the hammer beating it and to displace the place of blow.
Why a bell called Big Ben
Why the bell on a tower of the Westminster palace is called big (in English "биг") – it is clear, his "heavyweight fellows" can be counted on fingers. Bells weighing 9 tons are already considered as "athletes". But why Ben? Even radical Londoners cannot give definite answer to this question. Two versions are officially recognized. The first says that the bell is called by Big Ben in honor of the person monitoring his installation, sir Benjamin (sokrashchenno Bena) Hall. Supporters of the second say that the bell began to be called so because of the favourite of the English public of that time, the heavyweight boxer Benjamin Kaunt.