Why was big ben big built?

Answer 1

The old Palace of Westminster was destroyed by fire on October 16, 1834. In 1844, Parliament decided that the new buildings for the Houses of Parliament, by then under construction and designed by Sir Charles Barry, should have a clock tower. Augustus Welby Pugin was given much of the task of designing the clock tower itself. He used brick and Normany stone internally and stone from Yorkshire and Cornwall on the exterior. The roof is cast-iron plates. The Astronomer Royal, George Airy was appointed to draft a specification for the clock. One of his requirements was that: "the first stroke of the hour bell should register the time, correct to within one second per day, and furthermore that it should telegraph its performance twice a day to Greenwich Observatory, where a record would be kept. Only two clockmakers said they could do this. Edward John Dent was the one to win the contract to build the clock. The actual mechanism itself was designed by Edmund Beckett Denison and his design later became standard in all large turret clocks. It took 2 years to build this new design and 5 years being tested in Dent's workshop before being fitted in the tower. Denison was also influential in the casting of the Great bell.

The first casting of the bell was destroyed as it cracked up after being shipped from the foundary in Stockton-on-tees, but the second bell cast at the London Whitechapel foundary continues to be used today even though it also cracked shortly after fitting. It was hurriedley patched up and rotated slightly, a lighter hammer of 4 cwt fitted.

The clock with all the bells were working for the first time in September 1859 and by then it had it's name, Big Ben. It was named after the popular parliamentarian of the time, Sir Benjamin Hall.

The main bell of 5 in the tower (4 quarter bells), Big Ben the great bell weighs 13.7 tonnes, as much as two full grown elephants !

Big Ben (Elizabeth Tower) today is synonymous as of the tower, clock and bell.
The purpose of Big Ben tower is that it is the biggest reliable clock in London. It has been part of celebration every year for a long time. The reason it was built was because it could replace old palace of west minister after it was destroyed by a fire.

The Tower was built for Londoners working in the city to see what the time is from a distance and be on time. It is the most accurate and biggest clock in the world.

Answer 2

The old Palace of Westminster was destroyed by fire on October 16, 1834. In 1844, Parliament decided that the new buildings for the Houses of Parliament, by then under construction and designed by Sir Charles Barry, should have a clock tower. Augustus Welby Pugin was given much of the task of designing the clock tower itself. He used brick and Normany stone internally and stone from Yorkshire and Cornwall on the exterior. The roof is cast-iron plates. The Astronomer Royal, George Airy was appointed to draft a specification for the clock. One of his requirements was that: "the first stroke of the hour bell should register the time, correct to within one second per day, and furthermore that it should telegraph its performance twice a day to Greenwich Observatory, where a record would be kept. Only two clockmakers said they could do this. Edward John Dent was the one to win the contract to build the clock. The actual mechanism itself was designed by Edmund Beckett Denison and his design later became standard in all large turret clocks. It took 2 years to build this new design and 5 years being tested in Dent's workshop before being fitted in the tower. Denison was also influential in the casting of the Great bell.

The first casting of the bell was destroyed as it cracked up after being shipped from the foundary in Stockton-on-tees, but the second bell cast at the London Whitechapel foundary continues to be used today even though it also cracked shortly after fitting. It was hurriedley patched up and rotated slightly, a lighter hammer of 4 cwt fitted.

The clock with all the bells were working for the first time in September 1859 and by then it had it's name, Big Ben. It was named after the popular parliamentarian of the time, Sir Benjamin Hall.

The main bell of 5 in the tower (4 quarter bells), Big Ben the great bell weighs 13.7 tonnes, as much as two full grown elephants !

Big Ben (Elizabeth Tower) today is synonymous as of the tower, clock and bell.
The purpose of Big Ben tower is that it is the biggest reliable clock in London. It has been part of celebration every year for a long time. The reason it was built was because it could replace old palace of west minister after it was destroyed by a fire.

The Tower was built for Londoners working in the city to see what the time is from a distance and be on time. It is the most accurate and biggest clock in the world.