The
name
Big
Ben
was
first
given
to
a
14.5
tonne
(16
ton)
hour
bell,
cast
on
10
April
1856
in
Stockton-on-Tees
by
Warner's
of
Cripplegate.
The
bell
was
never
officially
named,
but
the
legend
on
it
records
that
the
commissioner
of
works,
Sir
Benjamin
Hall,
was
responsible
for
the
order;
another
theory
is
that
the
bell
may
have
been
named
after
heavyweight
boxer
Benjamin
Caunt
who
was
popular
at
the
time.
There's
also
a
story
that
the
bell
was
to
be
called
"Victoria"
in
honour
of
Queen
Victoria,
but
the
ceremonial
speeches
went
on
so
long
that
some
joker
shouted
out
"Oh
just
call
it
Big
Ben
and
have
done
with
it!"
and
the
name
stuck.
Since
the
tower
was
not
yet
finished,
the
bell
was
mounted
in
New
Palace
Yard
but
the
bell
cracked
under
the
striking
hammer,
and
its
metal
was
recast
at
the
Whitechapel
Bell
Foundry
as
the
13.76
tonne
(13.54
ton
(long),
15.17
ton
(short)
bell
and
standing
at
(2.2
metres
high
with
a
diameter
of
2.9
metres)
which
is
in
use
today.
The
new
bell,
which
chimes
on
E,
was
mounted
in
the
tower
in
1859
alongside
four
quarter-hour
bells,
the
ring
of
bells
that
ring
the
familiar
changes.
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