Time: Big Ben to be "Silenced" for repairs

Plans to silence the bells of London's iconic Big Ben for four years during renovation have caused some recent controversy in the UK. Beginning at noon on Monday, August 21, 2017, the bells will be mostly out of commission until 2021 for "essential repairs," according to the BBC. 

Aside from affecting one of the most recognizable landmarks in the world, the news pinged our horological radar. So we'll take this opportunity bring you the story - but mostly as an excuse for a quick look at Big Ben itself from a horological perspective

Big Ben" is actually the nickname for the Great Bell that sounds the hours, but that name often also extends to the Great Clock and Elizabeth Tower itself. In the center of London, Elizabeth Tower stands 96m tall at the north end of the Palace of Westminster, where the UK's two houses of the Parliament meet. So, as a national and cultural symbol, as well as a symbol of government, almost anything involving it is bound to raise some emotions for locals. Aside from some minor as well as notable interruptions over its long history, Big Ben's bells have been ringing and its clock has been displaying remarkably accurate time for 157 years.

Big Ben is a great example of the many beautiful clocks that can be found around London from the rich history of British clockmaking. Watch lovers might wonder why there aren't more watchmakers, especially in today's "British watchmaking revival," that use the many cool and interesting historical clock designs available. Big Ben's style of Roman numerals, for example, is something that has not made it onto many modern watches but could indeed be very cool (note the use of the Roman numeral IV instead of IIII that is more common on watch dials). Dent, the namesake company of the clockmaker who built Big Ben, does make a watch specifically in the style style of Big Ben, but there is still so much more history to draw upon.

At 334 stairs up the tower, Big Ben's clockwork sits in a large frame with an inscription near its base: "This clock was made in the year of our Lord 1854 by Frederick Dent, of the Strand and Royal Exchange, clockmaker to the Queen, from the design of Edmund Beckett Denison Q.C." More precisely, it was designed by Edmund Beckett Denison and George Airy, and constructed by Edward John Dent. Edward Dent died in 1853, and his stepson Edmund finished the clock in 1854, but it did not go into use until May 31, 1859, when the tower's construction was completed.

With dials on each of the four faces of the tower, each is 7m (23ft) in diameter and made of cast iron with 312 pieces of opal glass for nighttime illumination, some of which have the ability to be removed for inspecting the hands. The hour hand alone is 2.7m (9ft), and the minute hand is 4.3m (14ft) long. Just think of the massive power and clockwork it must require to move four sets of those hands, not to mention the five bells.

At the time it was built, the Great Clock was said to be "biggest, most accurate four-faced striking and chiming clock in the world," according to Westminster clockmaker Ian Westworth who helps keep the clock consistently accurate to within two seconds.

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