tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7052201062697099012.post5250610391465487714..comments2022-04-10T19:07:50.533-07:00Comments on Old Postcard Art: Big Ben and chimes, Londonfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03018488776498491595noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7052201062697099012.post-4884675030206833972007-12-17T07:19:00.000-08:002007-12-17T07:19:00.000-08:00Big Ben Facts and Figures:How Big is Ben? 9'-0" di...Big Ben Facts and Figures:<BR/>How Big is Ben? 9'-0" diameter, 7'-6" high, and weighing in at 13 tons 10 cwts 3 qtrs 15lbs (13,760 Kg) or 13 huge <A HREF="http://www.booklimo.co.uk/" REL="nofollow">Limousine London</A> vehicles.<BR/>When? Big Ben was cast on Saturday 10th April 1858, with the first chime rung in situ on 31st May 1859.<BR/>Where? Whitechapel Bell Foundry, London.<BR/>By Whom? George Mears, then the master bellfounder and owner of the foundry.<BR/>How Much? UKP 2,401 for casting the bell (However this was offset to the sum of UKP 1,829 by the metal reclaimed from a previous bell so that the actual invoice submitted, on 28th May 1858, was for UKP 572.<BR/>"Big Ben" does not refer to the whole clocktower, but to the huge thirteen ton bell that strikes the hour.<BR/>One theory has it that the bell was named after a popular heavyweight boxer Benjamin Caunt. However, the consensus today seems to be that it was named after Sir Benjamin Hall*, a (literally) weighty politician of the time who was the Parliamentary Commissioner of Works.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com