![]() It is remembered that the clock certainly struck thirteen midnight within a few days of Queen Victoria’s death.Įarlier the same year, note the reference to superstition.īig Ben failed its numerous admirers on Tuesday night for first time for two years. Two months later, to the very day, his elder brother died.ġ906: There is a superstition that when Big Ben strikes thirteen at midnight a death may be expected in the Royal Family. The event was commented on and, the day being a critical one in the illness of Prince George, his name was, happily incorrectly, associated with the evil omen. At twelve o’clock on night of November 14, the members of a political club within a stone’s throw of the Houses of Parliament were astonished to hear the quarter chimes sounding simultaneously with the hour strikes, and to note that Big Ben struck 13 times. It is as follows: There is, it seems, a superstition that when Big Ben, the clock of Westminster, strikes irregularly at midnight, evil will befall the Royal House within three months. ![]() He particularly enjoyed the way that the ‘rules’ changed with every news story.ġ892: A most curious coincidence with regard to the death of the late Duke of Clarence has come under notice. ![]() Beach’s curiosity was aroused and sure enough a simple search brought up a few references from between the lines of history. ( Can this be right: drbeachcombing AT yahoo DOT com). It would hardly be surprising then that there are superstitions about Big Ben, but what is surprising is that these seem not to feature in folklore books on London. A light above Big Ben is also lit to let the public know when Parliament is in session.Big Ben the great bell that rings out from Westminster is a central part of British identity: not least because its chimes have, for many years, sounded on national radio and television programs. At night, all four of the clock’s faces, each one 23 feet across, are illuminated. Its famously accurate timekeeping is regulated by a stack of coins placed on the clock’s huge pendulum, ensuring a steady movement of the clock hands at all times. Another famous story argues that the bell was named for the popular heavyweight boxer Benjamin Caunt, because it was the largest of its kind.Įven after an incendiary bomb destroyed the chamber of the House of Commons during the Second World War, Elizabeth Tower survived, and Big Ben continued to function. ![]() Many claim it was named after the famously long-winded Sir Benjamin Hall, the London commissioner of works at the time it was built. Two main stories exist about how Big Ben got its name. The name “Big Ben” originally just applied to the bell but later came to refer to the clock itself. While many clockmakers dismissed this goal as impossible, Airy counted on the help of Edmund Beckett Denison, a formidable barrister known for his expertise in horology, or the science of measuring time. The royal astronomer, Sir George Airy, wanted the clock to have pinpoint accuracy, including twice-a-day checks with the Royal Greenwich Observatory. The famous tower clock known as Big Ben, located at the top of the 320-foot-high Elizabeth Tower, rings out over the Houses of Parliament in Westminster, London, for the first time on May 31, 1859.Īfter a fire destroyed much of the Palace of Westminster-the headquarters of the British Parliament-in October 1834, a standout feature of the design for the new palace was a large clock atop a tower. ![]()
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