The Beginning
On the nighttime of the 16th of October, 1834 the onetime Palace of Westminster was destroyed past times fire. It is said that Charles Barry, an architect, was returning to London from Brighton, where he had designed a church, saw the glow of the burn inwards the distance as well as discovered that the Houses of Parliament were on fire. Following the devastation of the buildings, a contest was launched for blueprint suitable for the novel Palace. Charles Barry’s blueprint won.
Charles Barry’s blueprint incorporated a clock tower. The dials were to live xxx feet inwards diameter, the quarter chimes were to live struck on 8 bells, as well as the hours were to live struck on a fourteen ton bell. Barry invited Benjamin Lewis Vulliamy, a clockmaker of reputation, to submit a blueprint as well as cost for constructing such a clock. No incertitude Vulliamy was pleased to live the clockmaker of alternative for what was as well as then to live the largest clock inwards the world, but other enterprising firms were non happy amongst the agency inwards which they had no chance to compete for the contract. Subsequently, the Astronomer Royal, Sir George Airy, was appointed equally referee for the novel clock as well as produced a specification inwards 1846. H5N1 fundamental requirement of the specification was that the clock was to strike the foremost blow of each hr right to ane instant inwards time. Tenders were invited as well as were received from iii makers, Dent, Vulliamy as well as Whitehurst.
It was clear that Airy favoured Dent, amongst whom he had worked on the evolution of the chronometer. In 1849 the famous horologist, Edmund Beckett Denison (later Lord Grimthorpe) was appointed co-referee amongst Airy. Denison was inwards understanding amongst Airy that Dent was the maker most capable of constructing the clock as well as they produced a revised specification as well as drawings, inwards observe of which Dent was requested to revise his estimate. In 1852 Dent was awarded the contract.
Early troubles
The foremost of the difficulties occurred when it was discovered that the architect had failed to brand the necessary provision for the clock inwards the tower. Denison surely had the mightiness to propel the projection forward, but he lacked whatever diplomatic science as well as the tension which existed betwixt him as well as Barry precluded whatever compromise past times the architect. It was necessary instead for the clock to live modified so that it would tally inside the internal walls.
Edward John Dent died inwards 1853 as well as the clock mechanism was completed past times his stepson Frederick Rippon (who changed his cite to Frederick Dent). In 1854 the mechanism was laid to live installed inwards the tower but this was non possible equally the tower was incomplete. Denison was hence able to pass a expose of years testing out dissimilar types of escapement on the mechanism equally it operated inwards Dent’s workshop. It was during this menstruum that he invented the double three-legged gravity escapement which enables the clock to proceed such accurate time.
Denison was also invited to arrive at a specification for, as well as referee, the casting of the bells. The contract was allow to John Warner as well as Sons who cast the hr bell inwards 1856. The tower was non yet laid to have the bell so upon delivery it was mounted inwards the New Palace Yard where it was struck regularly for the exercise goodness of the public. This bell weighed almost xvi tons, which was 2 tons heavier than intended. To compensate for this, Denison increased the weight of the ball hammer from 4 to vi cwt. This was non a wise move, as well as ane yr afterwards inwards 1857, the bang-up bell cracked irreparably piece beingness struck past times this hammer. Denison proclaimed the casting equally faulty but the manufacturers denied this as well as claimed it was his error for using also heavy a hammer. George Mears of the Whitechapel Bell Foundry was given the contract to recast the bell from the metallic of the onetime inwards 1858 which he did successfully, producing a bell weighing 13.5 tons which is the ane inwards purpose today. The 4 quarter bells were cast past times Warners.
The cite ‘Big Ben’ was foremost applied to the master copy hr bell cast past times Warners. There is no line solid evidence of the root of this name, but it may bring derived from Sir Benjamin Hall, Commissioner of Works who was involved amongst the projection as well as who was a human of considerable size. The cite was also applied to the recast hr bell as well as has since come upwards to signal non but the bell, but also the clock as well as the clocktower.
Yet to a greater extent than difficulties…
When the 5 bells were installed inwards the tower inwards 1858, it was possible to install the clock mechanism inwards the clockroom beneath the belfry. The adjacent difficulty arose over the hands for the dials of the clock. The master copy hands were designed as well as manufactured on behalf of Charles Barry but were also heavy for the clock to live able to operate amongst them. Denison requested Barry to bring the hands remade, but when this was done it was constitute that the hands installed on the dials were heavier that the previous ones! The clock all the same could non constituent correctly, so Denison obtained permission for Dents to create infinitesimal hands to his design. These infinitesimal hands are the ones inwards purpose today, the hr hands beingness from Charles Barry’s instant attempt. With the hands operating satisfactorily it was instantly possible to commence the chiming as well as hr striking so the clock became fully operational on the 7thof September 1859.
This pleasant province of affairs was brusque lived. Less than ane calendar month later, the bang-up hr bell cracked piece beingness struck past times the same vi cwt. hammer that ruined the master copy bell. H5N1 violent dispute ensued betwixt Denison as well as Mears, the bell founder, which culminated amongst Denison beingness sued for libel past times Mears. The hours were struck on the largest of the quarter bells for 2 years piece the declaration was going on. Eventually chemic analysis of the bell metallic proved Denison right, but it was non considered viable to bring the bell recast for the instant time. Instead, the bell was given a quarter plough to motion the cleft away from the dot of the hammer’s strike as well as a lighter hammer was substituted. Thus inwards 1862, striking of the hr bell resumed.
At last
The adjacent 114 years of the clock’s history were relatively serene as well as Big Ben presently developed a reputation for bang-up accuracy. In 1906, the gas lighting of the dials was replaced past times electrical lighting. Electric winding of the clock was introduced inwards 1912. The mechanism was overhauled inwards 1934 as well as 1956.
The foremost radio broadcast of Big Ben was made past times the BBC at midnight on the 31st of Dec 1923 to welcome inwards the novel year. Shortly afterwards, a permanent microphone installation enabled regular broadcasts of the chimes as well as the bell to constituent effectively equally a fourth dimension signal. The broadcasting of the bells on the BBC World Service assumed detail importance during the Second World War, when the sounds were a source of comfort as well as hope to those hoping that United Kingdom would non live overcome.
Big Ben is all the same broadcast today on BBC Radio 4 at sure times.
Disaster
However, inwards 1976 a completely unanticipated lawsuit occurred which almost caused the consummate devastation of the clock. At 3:45am on the 5th of August 1976 equally the clock started to chime, metallic fatigue inwards the shaft connecting the chiming prepare to its wing fan caused the shaft to break. Without the retarding as well as braking lawsuit of the fly, the chiming mechanism, propelled past times the 1.25 ton weight inwards the shaft, increased its speed of rotation dramatically. This led to the total devastation of the chiming mechanism, amongst diverse components as well as fragments of others beingness scattered almost the clockroom. Some pieces of mechanism were flung at the ceiling amongst sufficient forcefulness to penetrate to the room above. The cast atomic expose 26 frame was fractured as well as collapsed onto the winding motor below. The flight debris also caused harm to the going as well as striking trains.
It was necessary for the chiming prepare to live reconstructed from scratch. The magnitude of this chore meant that other options, such equally replacement amongst an electrical motor, were considered. The reconstruction took almost ane yr to complete.
The sounds of Big Ben bring traditionally been the focus of the entry of the New Year. In Dec 1999 they were of detail significance, mark the commencement of the novel Millennium. The sounds of the chimes were relayed on boob tube as well as radio broadcasts as well as to the crowd assembled inwards the Millennium Dome. For the foremost fourth dimension also, cameras were located inwards the belfry so that viewers could come across equally good equally listen the chimes as well as twelve o’clock beingness struck on the bells.
Source: www.bigben.freeservers.com
