Lilliput Lane - Big Ben

Big Ben from the Lilliput Lane Collection. One of London's most famous landmarks. Big Ben is actually the thirteen-ton house bell inside the magnificent Victorian Gothic Revival fetted stone clock tower which is said to be names after Sir Benjamin Hall, the commissioner of works in charge of the rebuilding of the Palace of Westminster, better known as the House of Parliament. The Great Bell was first cast in 1856 in Stockton-on-Tees. Weighing sixteen tones it took a team of sixteen horses to transport it through the streets of London and Cheering crowds lined the route. Sadly the bell cracked during testing and had to be recast at hte Whitechapel Bell Foundry. Again the bell cracked in testing, but this time it was taken down and repaired, leaving it with the distinctive odd 'twang' which has made its chimes instantly recognisable on television and radio broadcasts around the world.