• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Eddie Lerner

Tourist Guide • Tour Manager • Writer • Lecturer

  • About Me
  • About My Tours
  • Writing & Lectures
  • Availability
  • Contact
  • Blog

Big Ben Falls Silent

9th January 2016 By Eddie Lerner Leave a Comment

The classic view of Big Ben from Lambeth

The classic view of Big Ben from Lambeth

I am a confirmed New Year scrooge and quite happy to go to bed in one year and wake up in the next. Guides often work when others have fun and my other half was looking after a group in Scotland (where they take these things seriously) so I had no desire to stay up to watch Big Ben see in 2017.

Actually that is a mistake? What I should have said is hear Big Ben bring in the New Year because, strictly speaking, the name applies to the bell not the clock. We usually have a Big Ben photo stop on a tour of London and I promise them a ‘view’ of it with maybe a chance to hear the bell if I get the timing right and traffic allows. These will both be harder now that the Elizabeth Tower, where the bell/clock are housed, is due to be refurbished. Scaffolding will be erected shortly and the bell will be silenced for long periods, although one side of the clock will remain visible and the bell will still ring at important times such as Remembrance Sunday and New Year Eves. The work will cost the British taxpayer nearly £30 million and take three years, after which work on the rest of the Palace of Westminster will begin and the politicians will have to find somewhere else to have their deliberations.

People sometimes ask where the name of Big Ben comes from and this is surprisingly tricky to answer. The Minister of Public Works when the clock was installed was Sir Benjamin Hall, a tall and imposing man. A popular English boxer of the day was Ben Caunt, another big man, and either – or both – could have influenced the nicknaming of the bell. Maybe it was adopted simply because it had a nice ring to it. (Sorry.)

Elizabeth Tower from south of the Thames

Elizabeth Tower from south of the Thames

A Waterloo Sunset over Westminster

A Waterloo Sunset over Westminster

With a group of other London guides I climbed the 334 steps many years ago to see the inside of the mechanism. These tours, which are very hard to get on, will be suspended during restoration but, when they recommence, disabled visitors will be able to use a newly installed lift while the rest of us will continue to climb the stairs, which is considered an essential part of the experience of visiting the interior of the Tower and seeing the actual Big Ben. With the state of my knees I may qualify for the lift by that time.

For more on the restoration of the Palace of Westminster and Big Ben go to http://www.parliament.uk/ and search for ‘restoration’.

Filed Under: London

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

Recent Posts

EDDIE’S BLOG POSTS

6th November 2018

If you wish to visit my tourist guide blog site go … [Read More...] about EDDIE’S BLOG POSTS

FROM DYLAN TO ZIMMERMAN

5th November 2018

          & … [Read More...] about FROM DYLAN TO ZIMMERMAN

THE GLOBE GOES GREEN

29th October 2018

          & … [Read More...] about THE GLOBE GOES GREEN

THE ENGLISH IDIOT

29th October 2018

So who is the most recognisable Englishman around … [Read More...] about THE ENGLISH IDIOT

OIL SEED RAPE, AKA CANOLA

15th October 2018

          & … [Read More...] about OIL SEED RAPE, AKA CANOLA

Topics

  • Artists
  • FAMILIARISATION TOUR
  • Hillside Carvings
  • IRELAND
  • London
  • Religion
  • ROYALTY
  • RULES OF THE ROAD
  • SCIENTISTS
  • SCOTLAND
  • STATELY HOMES
  • Steam trains
  • Sussex
  • Uncategorised
  • Writers

Archives By Date

  • November 2018
  • October 2018
  • September 2018
  • August 2018
  • July 2018
  • June 2018
  • May 2018
  • April 2018
  • March 2018
  • February 2018
  • January 2018
  • December 2017
  • November 2017
  • October 2017
  • September 2017
  • August 2017
  • July 2017
  • June 2017
  • May 2017
  • April 2017
  • March 2017
  • February 2017
  • January 2017
  • January 2016

© 2016–2022 Eddie Lerner, All Rights Reserved

Website designed and hosted by West Sussex Websites
Privacy & Cookies Policy

This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish.Accept Read More
Privacy & Cookies Policy
Necessary Always Enabled

Menu
  • Home
  • About Me
  • About My Tours
  • Writing & Lectures
  • Contact
  • Blog