Did you know that if you were to stack 21 London Buses together, that would be the height of Big Ben? Or that Big Ben is a nickname and the clock is called Elizabeth Tower? I guarantee that you didn't know that. Big Ben is one of many iconic buildings in London so I will educate you all about how Big Ben was built and why it is so epic
Big Ben is located in Westminster, specifically at the north end of the Houses of Parliament, next to the River Thames. The Tower was built on the 28th of September 1843. But during the Great Fire in London, the building of Parliament was destroyed therefore in 1835 a Royal Commission was formed. In June 1845 the commission held a public competition to design a new Palace. Ultimately, Charles Barry was chosen as the winner. He collaborated with Augustus Pugin to design the decorative details for the tower. Augustus Pugin was a Gothic architect and designer who designed the Scarisbrick Hall in Lancashire. Unfortunately, Pugin never saw the final product as he died at the age of 40 but did write a letter that states:
“I never worked so hard in my life for Mr Barry for tomorrow I render all the designs for finishing his bell tower and it is beautiful.”
The Big Ben was constructed from the inside out. Materials for the tower were transported from all across the country via road and boat. During construction, a special gantry was mounted at the top of the tower to make rallying bricks and stones easier. You’re probably wondering what is inside Big Ben. Well obviously the clock itself, not to mention the clock’s mechanism tower. There is a tall stone winding staircase and a lovely airshaft to bring in fresh air for the rest of the palace. Sounds wonderful doesn't it? A prison was built on the lower level in 1854, and documents were stored on the upper level.
Surprisingly, construction fell five years behind schedule due to the Parliament moving into the new building. it took sixteen years before the bells would start to ring out across Westminster. Since the creation of Big Ben, it has been covered in scaffolding 3 times, in the 1930s 1950s and 1980s
To conclude, I urge you all to see not only Big Ben but all the other famous sites in the UK (such as Buckingham Palace). You may learn something new.
