![]() ![]() Londoners will hope that the now renovated clock will keep time just as well. Its been called the Elizabeth Tower since 2012 previously just the Clock Tower. Workers have discovered extensive World War II bomb damage on the tower that houses London’s famous Big Ben clock, which will force the cost of restoring it to rise by £18.6 million. ![]() Before the renovation, it was said it lost no more than a second in accuracy a week. The clock tower was not (technically) Big Ben, which is the actual bell. Its sheer size, weighing a little over 15 tons, is impressive, as is the intricacy of a clock mechanism based on the most advanced technology available to its 19th-century creators. The challenges of making that happen, though, become clear when climbing the confined, 334-step stairwell that winds up to the belfry. In January 2020, Brexit supporters fought in vain to return it to service to mark the country’s exit from the European Union. So important is the chime to the national psyche that special arrangements were made during the renovation for it to strike each year on Remembrance Day, to commemorate Britain’s war dead and to usher in the New Year. Watrobski said represented “the light of freedom and democracy.” Big Ben, he added, had come to symbolize “the sound of freedom and hope,” particularly during World War II. Indeed, when Parliament is in session, there is a special illumination above the dials, which Mr. “But it’s the symbolism, the size of the great clock of Westminster, that gives it its importance.” “At the end of the day, you could say it is just a series of concentric stone shafts with a bloody great clock on top,” said Adam Watrobski, the chief architect of the tower’s restoration. The length of the arrows is 2.7 and 4.2 meters. Each clock face is made of 324 pieces of pot opal glass, which were produced in Germany. The clock on the Big Ben Tower in London is the largest in the world by far. More than 3,500 parts were removed from the 316-foot tower, including much of its iron roof. But it is the nickname of the biggest bell in the belfry that draws the most name recognition, and it is replicas of this landmark that make up a substantial chunk of souvenir sales.ĭuring the past five years, the clock, which has four dials, was dismantled and serviced for the first time since it started ticking in 1859. The tower stands tall over the Palace of Westminster, which houses the British Parliament and is one of the world’s most instantly recognized constructions. ![]() However, Big Ben is actually the nickname of only the. The restoration work is done, and this summer, a sound familiar to Londoners for more than a century and a half will again ring out across the British capital. Many Londoners refer to the Clock Tower, the clocks and the Great Bell, collectively, as Big Ben. The Elizabeth Tower, called the Clock Tower until it was renamed in 2012, was refurbished at a cost of about $97 million. The tower that houses the enormous bell has been undergoing renovation since 2017. London’s Big Ben, one of the world’s landmarks, looks set to chime again. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |