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Big Ben
Big Ben is the nickname of the Great Bell of Westminster, the hour bell of the Great Clock, hanging in the Clock Tower of the Palace of Westminster, the home of the Houses of Parliament in the United Kingdom.
One
theory holds that the bell was named "Big Ben" after Sir Benjamin
Hall, the Chief Commissioner of Works. Another theory suggests that at the time
anything which was heaviest of its kind was called "Big Ben" after
the then-famous prizefighter Benjamin Caunt, making it a natural name for the
bell.
Big
Ben is commonly taken to be the name of the clock tower itself, but this is
incorrect - the tower is simply known as The Clock Tower. Sometimes, the tower
is referred to as St. Stephen's Tower, but this title is not used by staff of
the Palace of Westminster.
The
bell weighs 13.8 tonnes (13 tons 10cwt 99lb), with a striking hammer weighing
203.2kg (4cwt), and was originally tuned to E. There is delay of 5 seconds
between strikes. It is a common misconception that Big Ben is the heaviest bell
in Britain. In fact, it is only the third heaviest, the second heaviest being
Great George found at Liverpool Cathedral (14 tons 15cwt 2qr 2lb) and the
heaviest being Great Paul found at St Paul's Cathedral (16 tons 14cwt 2qt
19lb).
The
original tower designs demanded a 14 ton bell to be struck with a 6cwt hammer.
A bell was produced by John Warner and Sons in 1856, weighing 16 tons. However,
this cracked under test in the Palace Yard. The contract for the bell was then
given to the Whitechapel Bell Foundry, who in 1858 re-cast the bell into the 13
ton bell used today. It too started to crack under the 6cwt hammer, and a legal
battle arose. After two years of having the Great Bell out of commission, the
6cwt hammer was replaced with a lighter 4cwt hammer, and the bell itself was
turned 90 degrees so the crack would not develop any further, coming back into
use in 1862. However, the crack, now filled, and the turn meant that it no
longer struck a true E.
The
belfry also houses four quarter bells which play the Westminster Chimes,
derived from Handel's Messiah, on the quarter hours. The C note in the chime is
repeated twice in quick succession, faster than the chiming train can draw back
the hammers, so the C bell uses two separate hammers.
Reliability
The
clock is famous for its reliability. This is due to its designer, the lawyer
and amateur horologist Edmund Beckett Denison, later Lord Grimthorpe. As the
clock mechanism, created to Denison's specification by clockmaker Edward John
Dent, was completed before the tower itself was finished, Denison had time to
experiment with the clock. Instead of using the deadbeat escapement and
remontoire as originally designed, Denison invented the double three legged
gravity escapement. This escapement provides the best separation between
pendulum and clock mechanism. Together with an enclosed, wind-proof box sunk
beneath the clockroom, the Great Clock's pendulum is well isolated from
external factors like snow, ice and pigeons on the clock hands, and keeps
remarkably accurate time.
The
clock had its first and only major breakdown in 1975. The famous quarter bells
broke in late April 2004, and were reactivated again on May 9. During this time
BBC Radio Four had to make do with the pips.
The
idiom of putting a penny on, with the meaning of slowing down, sprung from the
method of fine-tuning the clock's pendulum by adding or subtracting
penny-coins. Even to this day, only old pennies, phased out of British currency
during the 1971 Decimalization, are used.
A
20-foot metal replica of the clock tower known as Little Ben, complete with
working clock, stands on a traffic island close to Victoria Station. Several
turret clocks around the world are inspired by the look of the Great Clock,
including the clock tower of the Gare de Lyon in Paris and the Peace Tower of
the Parliament of Canada in Ottawa.
Culture
Big
Ben is a focus of New Year celebrations in the UK, with radio and TV stations
tuning to its chimes to welcome the 'official' start of the year. Similarly, on
Remembrance Day, the chimes of Big Ben are broadcast to mark the 11th hour of
the 11th day of the 11th month and the start of two minutes silence.
For
many years ITN's "News at Ten" began with an opening sequence which
featured Big Ben with the chimes punctuating the anouncement of the news
headlines. This has since been dropped, but all ITV1 and ITV News Channel
bulletins still use a graphic based on the Westminster clock face. Big Ben can
also be heard striking the hour before some news bulletins on BBC Radio 4 and
the BBC World Service, a practice that began on December 31, 1923.
The
clock features in John Buchan's spy novel The Thirty-Nine Steps and makes for a
memorable climax in Don Sharp's 1978 film version, although not in Alfred
Hitchcock's 1935 original adaptation. A similar scene is recreated in the 2003
film, Shanghai Knights which culminates with Jackie Chan hanging from the hands
of the clock. The clock also appears in the animated cartoon Basil, the Great
Mouse Detective.
An earlier
film climax on the clock face of Big Ben appears in Will Hay's 1943 film My
Learned Friend, although the scene is more slapstick than thriller.
Tugas Reading 2,
Nama : Nana Suryana
BIG BEN
England has many gigantic building
and fine architecture things, one of them is big ben. Big ben is the nick name
of great bell of westminter. This is a symbol of England and so much people focus
there around the big ben every year to celebrate a new year. Big ben is an
important spot to visit when you there in England. Historical building designed
by Edmund becket Denison is a giant clock to show the time. But as time goes
by, this giant clock is a magnet of England and home
of the Houses of Parliament in the United Kingdom. Many people and
international artist inspired by big ben to make a novel, films and used it as
a banner for tv show.
1.
Big ben located at westminter palace England
a.
True b.
False
2.
Edmund Becket Denison designed the great clock of
big ben
a.
True b. False
3.
Big ben was built on 19th century
a.
True b.
False
4.
British people celebrate new year party around the
big ben every year
a.
True b.
False
5.
Many artist inspired by big ben
a.
True b.
False
