![]() ![]() A weight as small as a single pre-decimal penny can cause the clock to gain two-fifths of a second in just 24 hours. The clock is kept accurate by adding or removing weight to the pendulum which alters how quickly it swings. The Great Clock is accurate to within one second.These were last used in 1880 when atheist Charles Bradlaugh MP refused to use a bible when taking the oath of allegiance to Queen Victoria. There are rooms in the tower used to imprison MPs or peers for breach of conduct.They were broadcast internationally for the first time in 1932 during King George V’s Christmas broadcast on the BBC’s Empire Service. The bongs of Big Ben were first broadcast over the radio by the BBC on New Year’s Eve 1923.The ends of the minute hands travel a distance of 120 miles a year.Big Ben was the largest bell in the British Isles until 'Great Paul', a 16. By way of contrast, the Leaning Tower of Pisa has a 3.97 degree angle. Big Ben has chimed with a slightly different tone ever since, and is still in use today with the crack unrepaired. The tower actually leans slightly, by about 0.04 degrees.The hour hands are made of gun metal, weigh 660lb and are nine feet long. The minute hands are made of copper sheet, weigh 220lb and are 14 feet long.This Latin phrase means “O Lord, keep safe our Queen Victoria the First”. Beneath each dial is written Domine Salvam Fac Reginam Nostram Victoriam Primam.The tower is 315 feet tall and has 11 floors.On May 10, 1941, the top of the tower was struck, but thankfully the damage was largely superficial. The tower was hit by a German bomb during the Blitz.Installed in 1885, it is illuminated while Parliament is in session. Just above the belfry at the top of the tower is the Ayrton Light named after Acton Smee Ayrton, the first Commissioner of Works.In 1962 Big Ben chimed in the New Year 10 minutes late because heavy snow and ice interfered with the mechanism.It was also quiet between 19 as part of another major refurbishment programme and from August 1976 it was quiet for nine months when one of the clock’s weights fell out of control, the only mechanical breakdown in its history. The last time the bell fell silent was for seven weeks as part of maintenance work in 2007.It also cast the Liberty Ball in Philadelphia as well as the bells for St Paul’s and Westminster Abbey. Founded in 1570, it was the oldest manufacturing company in Britain and had been trading from its headquarters on Whitechapel Road since 1739. The Whitechapel Bell Foundry was still in business until May this year.
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