Big Ben Marks 150th Birthday
One of Britain's last bell foundries on Thursday marked the 150th anniversary of its biggest creation — the massive bell whose bongs sound the hour at the Houses of Parliament.
It was made by the Whitechapel Bell Foundry, which also made Philadelphia's Liberty Bell and the Bell of Hope, given to New York by Londoners on the first anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.
The 15-ton Big Ben was cast on April 10, 1858, at the foundry in east London, although it was another year before it first rang out from Parliament's clock tower.
"We are going to toast Big Ben's health at the end of the working day," said Mike Backhouse, the foundry's works manager. "Whether we'll sing 'Happy Birthday,' I don't know."
Read entire article at AP
It was made by the Whitechapel Bell Foundry, which also made Philadelphia's Liberty Bell and the Bell of Hope, given to New York by Londoners on the first anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.
The 15-ton Big Ben was cast on April 10, 1858, at the foundry in east London, although it was another year before it first rang out from Parliament's clock tower.
"We are going to toast Big Ben's health at the end of the working day," said Mike Backhouse, the foundry's works manager. "Whether we'll sing 'Happy Birthday,' I don't know."