![]() ![]() ![]() "By New Year people will start to see a big difference they'll start to get their tower back," he said. Nick Sturge, project manager for Sir Robert McAlpine's special projects, said removing the scaffolding was a "massive milestone" in the 79.7 million pound ($107 million) project. The clock tower of Britain's Houses of Parliament has been hidden for three-and-a-half years while hundreds of craftspeople repaired masonry, replaced metalwork and repainted and regilded in the biggest restoration since it was built in 1859. Photo Credit: © Ursula Petula Barzey.LONDON, Nov 23 (Reuters) - Big Ben's dials will emerge from a shroud of scaffolding in time for the world famous clock to perform its most important annual role - ringing in the New Year for thousands on the streets of London and millions more watching on television. View of Palace of Westminster and Big Ben from the Thames River. Once again, the famous Big Ben clock tower can be seen – and photographed – by people visiting London. Although, strictly speaking, they do not because the name applies to the bell, not the clock, few people will pedantically correct this mistake. Millions of tourists have taken photographs of the Queen Elizabeth Tower in Westminster and told their friends back home that they have a picture of Big Ben. According to popular legend, one Member of Parliament, after listening to a long speech by Benjamin Hall on proposed names for the, and interjected with the suggestion: “Why not call it Big Ben and have done with it?” This remark was not mentioned in Hansard, the official record of all speeches in the Houses of Parliament, but the unknown MP’s suggestion was taken up and the name Big Ben stayed and has been used ever since. It is quite possible that these two theories on the origin of the name Big Ben both have an element of truth in them. Caunt was a highly successful boxer who was nicknamed ‘Big Ben’ and this name soon became attached to any large, formidable object. ![]() The two fighters continued punching each other until one was either knocked out or gave in. No points were awarded in boxing matches during the nineteenth century and boxing gloves were not used. Various suggestions have been put forward, the most common being that it was named after the Minister for Public works Benjamin Hall who, at six and a half feet (nearly two metres) tall was certainly an imposing figure.Īnother well-known man at the time when the Palace of Westminster was rebuilt in the mid-nineteenth century was Ben Caunt, a formidable bare-knuckle boxer who would sometimes fight his opponents for sixty rounds. No one is absolutely sure where the name Big Ben comes from. The restoration of the Queen Elizabeth Tower will cost in the region of £80 million, a price that increased by nearly £20 million from the original estimate after the discovery of asbestos remains, damage caused by bombing during the Second World War and further unexpected pollution problems.īen Big uncovered after renovations near completion. They believe that the previous black paint on the dials and stonework was chosen in the 1930s to mask the effects of pollution. Working from the original designs by the architect Sir Charles Barry, conservationists restored the Prussian blue and gold colour scheme on the dials and hands of the clock. The clock face can once more be seen as scaffolding is removed from the ninety-six metre tall Queen Elizabeth Tower at the eastern end of the Palace of Westminster. Although the annual fireworks display which is a part of the New Year festivities was cancelled because of the coronavirus pandemic, Londoners and visitors to the capital were able to see as well as hear Big Ben for the first time in four years since it was covered with scaffolding and silenced as a result of the restoration programme at the Palace of Westminster, better known as the Houses of Parliament.Īs any Blue Badge Tourist Guides in London can tell you, the traditional name ‘Big Ben’ applies to the bell placed behind the famous clock. London saw in 2022 to the traditional sound of the bells of Big Ben at Westminster. ![]()
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