Why is it called Big Ben? Tower or bell?

Why is it called Big Ben?

The Ben was most probably Sir Benjamin Hall MP, who, as First Commissioner of Works, oversaw the complicated later stages of the tower. That's the explanation Parliament itself gives, with an endearing twist: the nickname was probably given in fun, because Hall was a tall man.

The press of the day points the same way. In October 1856, as the first great bell arrived at Westminster, The Times observed that all bells are christened before they begin to toll, and wrote that "it is proposed to call our king of bells 'Big Ben' in honour of Sir Benjamin Hall", during whose time in office it had been cast.

There's another theory doing the rounds: Ben Caunt, the bare-knuckle heavyweight champion, who was also known as Big Ben. It has less going for it. Neither explanation is settled by a definitive document, so the honest answer is "probably Hall".

What's beyond doubt is who owns the name: the bell. Officially, the tower has had other names.

What is the Big Ben tower called?

Until 2012 it was officially the Clock Tower. That year, to mark Elizabeth II's Diamond Jubilee, it was renamed the Elizabeth Tower. So, strictly speaking, your photo is of the Elizabeth Tower, and the thing ringing at the top is Big Ben.

Does anyone need correcting for calling the tower, or the clock, Big Ben? Not at all. Nearly everyone does it, and you can see why. But the distinction is worth knowing, because the drama in this story belongs to the bell, not the tower. And to tell it, we have to start with a fire.

Why was the tower built?

On the night of 16 October 1834, the old Palace of Westminster burned almost to the ground. Beneath the House of Lords, two stoves had been loaded with the Exchequer's old tally sticks: notched wooden sticks that had once been used to keep the accounts. The fire spread from the stoves to the panelling of the chamber. Soane and other architects had been warning about the risk for years.

London hadn't seen a blaze like it since the Great Fire of 1666, and wouldn't again until the Blitz. Thousands turned out to watch, Turner and Constable included. Westminster Hall survived, and the wind carried the flames away from the Jewel Tower, the king's old treasure house. Almost everything else had to be rebuilt from scratch. The Parliament you know today, clock tower and all, rose from those ashes.

Years later, Dickens turned the fire into a satire on red tape. In his telling, the useless sticks couldn't simply be handed out to the poor to keep warm, so they were burned "privately and confidentially". It's a writer's joke, not an official report. But it's hard not to smile at the idea of losing a palace to get rid of some old accounts.

What was the bell going to be called?

The new tower needed a bell to match. The first one was cast in 1856 by Warners, in the north of England, and it was to be named Royal Victoria, after the queen. But, as you've just seen, as soon as it reached London the press was already suggesting another name. And it didn't survive its trials: in 1857 it developed a crack 1.2 metres long.

What followed will sound familiar. The founders blamed Denison, the clock's designer, and Denison blamed the founders. The history Parliament tells today points to the huge hammer Denison had fitted: it was too heavy. Whoever was to blame, they'd have to start again.

So the first name chosen for Westminster's great bell was a queen's. The one that went down in history was a tall politician's nickname.

Why is Big Ben cracked?

The second bell was cast in April 1858 in Whitechapel, in the East End. It came from a bell foundry that had been working in the area since at least the sixteenth century and had been on Whitechapel Road since the middle of the eighteenth (it closed in June 2017). Sixteen white horses hauled it to Westminster on a cart.

It struck for the first time on 11 July 1859. Before the year was out, it had a fresh crack.

What do you do then? For about four years, the answer was to wait. Big Ben went quiet, and the largest of the quarter bells, the smaller bells that keep it company, took over the job of striking the hours.

The fix came in 1863, and it was proposed by the Astronomer Royal, George Airy. His idea wasn't to mend the crack but to sidestep it: give the bell a quarter turn, so the hammer would land on a different spot, and swap the hammer for a lighter one. A small square was also cut out of the bell to stop the crack spreading. It worked. The crack is still there, visible only from inside, and what you hear on the hour is a bell that rings in spite of it.

One more thing. Long before all this, the medieval palace had its own clock tower. In 1699 its bell set off for St Paul's Cathedral and didn't arrive in one piece: it broke along the way. Between trials and removals, the bells of this corner of London don't have an enviable record.

Fact or legend.

Common mistake: calling the tower Big Ben. The name belongs to the great bell. The tower was the Clock Tower until 2012 and has been the Elizabeth Tower ever since.

Probable: that the name comes from Sir Benjamin Hall, who oversaw the works, and that it was a joke about his height. Parliament says so, and The Times was already suggesting it in 1856.

Another theory, with less support: the boxer Ben Caunt, who was also known as Big Ben.

Fact: the first bell, which was to be called Royal Victoria, cracked during its trials in 1857.

Fact: the second, cast in Whitechapel, rang out in July 1859 and cracked that same year. In 1863 it was given a quarter turn and a lighter hammer.

Fact: the tower was built after the fire of 1834, which started in stoves loaded with the Exchequer's old tally sticks.

Satire, not a report: Dickens's account of that fire.

Where to hear it

Podtour tells the story of the bell on its free route in London, "Westminster: Parliament, the Abbey and Big Ben". The stop "The bell that cracked twice" is heard with the tower in view, and the last one, "A tower, a moat and a fire started by sticks", tells you beside the Jewel Tower how the fire began. That's eleven stories in under a kilometre, from Westminster Bridge to the Jewel Tower, all from the street and all free.

If you're planning your trip, our London guide has the practical side covered.

Why is it called Big Ben? The bell, the tower and two cracks