From Watchismo, Alex Doak attends the 150th anniversary of Big Ben. There are some interesting shots from inside the structure as well as a brief history of the tower. It’s amazing to consider what 150 years really means- it’s a long time, but for something like Big Ben, something that becomes such a fixture in a city, it suddenly doesn’t seem that long anymore. So Happy Birthday, Big Ben, and hopefully many more!
Here’s an interesting bit about the design:
“In 1846 therefore, a competition was held to decide who should build the clock. Astronomer Royal, Sir George Airy – who had awarded Dent’s first commission in 1814 to build the Admiralty’s Standard Astronomical Clock – was appointed referee and set out unprecedented standards for the clock to meet.
These included:
- the first stroke of each hour to be accurate to within one second
- the clock’s performance to be telegraphed twice a day to Greenwich Observatory
Airy’s demanding standards led to delays that lasted seven years. Most master clockmakers of the day complained that such a level of accuracy was impossible for a clock of its size – at 4.2m and 2.7m, and 100kg and 300kg, the minute and hour hands are particularly susceptible to the elements, acting as windmills on all four clock faces, feeding unwanted energy from the rain and wind back into the delicate movement. The best that could be hoped for, they said, was three minutes a day.”
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