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Parent briefing

Big Ben rings for the first time, 1859

UK HistoryAges 5–7~15 min

On 11 July 1859 the biggest bell in Britain rang out over London for the first time. Two months later it cracked — and that crack is why its voice sounds like no other bell on Earth.

What happened

On 11 July 1859 the great hour bell of the new Westminster clock tower rang out over London for the first time. It weighed roughly 13½ tons — the largest bell then cast in Britain — and had been hauled to the tower behind sixteen white horses. Within two months the hammer cracked the bell; the Astronomer Royal George Airy fixed it by rotating the bell a quarter turn and fitting a lighter hammer. The crack is still there, and gives Big Ben its distinctive, slightly hollow voice.

Why it matters

Big Ben is a small, memorable way in to two very big ideas: public time (how a whole city agreed to run on the same minute) and Victorian engineering. It also introduces the wonderful lesson that things can be mended without being made perfect — that repair can be part of the character of a thing.

Your 10-minute introduction

‘Today we're going to meet the most famous bell on Earth. It lives at the top of a tall tower next to the River Thames in London, and its name is Big Ben. On this exact day, back in 1859, Big Ben rang out over the city for the very first time. Sixteen white horses had pulled it through the streets, because it was too heavy to carry — thirteen and a half TONS of ringing metal. Two months later something went wrong: the hammer hit the bell too hard, and it CRACKED. But instead of throwing it away, a clever astronomer named George Airy turned the bell a little bit and made the hammer lighter, and the crack stayed — which is why, if you ever hear Big Ben, it doesn't sound like any other bell on Earth. Before we read the story, I want you to close your eyes and imagine standing at the bottom of that tower, waiting to hear the first bong.’

Tell the story

For ages 5–7, begin with the bell, the tower, and the sound. If your child wants more, explain why accurate public time mattered for trains, work, and worship, and how a small stack of old pennies still keeps the clock on time today.

Ask your child

  • Why do you think a whole city needs a big shared clock?
  • Would you have thrown the cracked bell away, or kept it?
  • What sounds in our house tell us the time without a clock?
  • If you were the Keeper of the Clock, what would you check first every morning?

Likely child questions

  • Is Big Ben the tower or the bell? — The bell. The tower is now called the Elizabeth Tower.
  • Does it still work? — Yes, wound three times a week by hand.
  • How is it kept on time? — With a small stack of old pennies balanced on the pendulum. Adding one makes it run very slightly faster.

Materials needed

  • · Printed lesson pack (story, worksheet, timeline card, map card, word card)
  • · Coloured pencils or crayons
  • · Scissors and glue for the cut-out cards
  • · A UK map or wall map (optional)
  • · A quiet timer, for the two-minute listening exercise

Sensitivity note

Nothing distressing. If your child is nervous of loud sudden sounds, describe the chime before playing any audio.

Sources

  • · UK Parliament — The Elizabeth Tower and the Great Clock (parliament.uk)
  • · Encyclopædia Britannica — ‘Big Ben’

Story · for reading together

Big Ben rings for the first time, 1859

In 1859, London had a brand new Houses of Parliament, with a giant clock tower. The tower needed a bell, and not just any bell. It was the biggest in Britain: thirteen and a half TONS of ringing metal. Everyone called it Big Ben, probably after Sir Benjamin Hall, a very large and very loud gentleman who helped build the palace.

Getting it there took sixteen white horses, pulling it through cheering crowds. The bell was too big to go up the tower the right way up, so it was turned on its side and winched up, inch by inch, for thirty hours. And on 11 July 1859, exactly this day, its deep voice boomed out over London for the first time.

Two months later: disaster. CRACK. The hammer that struck the bell was more than twice as heavy as it should have been. Big Ben fell silent for four whole years. Then a clever astronomer called Sir George Airy found the answer. Turn the bell a quarter turn, so the hammer strikes a fresh spot. Use a lighter hammer. Cut a small square to stop the crack from spreading. It worked. Big Ben rang again, and the crack gave it a deep, soulful voice that no other bell on Earth can make.

It is still there, still cracked, still ringing. It rang all through the war while bombs fell around it. It is wound by hand three times a week by an officer called the Keeper of the Clock. And it keeps almost perfect time in a way so odd you will hardly believe it. The secret is waiting on your clock page.

Retell the story

In three pictures

You have told the story out loud. Now tell it again in THREE pictures: first the journey (sixteen white horses!), then the first ring, then the crack and the mending. One or two words under each picture is plenty.

1.The journey
2.The first ring
3.The crack, mended

Answer key: The letter: A

Number & measure

Counting the hours

Big Ben BONGS the hour: one bong for each o'clock. At 3 o'clock: BONG, BONG, BONG.

  1. a)How many bongs at 5 o'clock? And at 8 o'clock?
  2. b)Noon is 12 o'clock, the most bongs of all. Count them out loud, slowly and deeply, like the great bell itself. How many?
  3. c)Draw the missing SHORT hand on each clock (3, 7 and 12 o'clock). The long hand already points straight up to the 12.
  4. d)If the bell bongs 3 times, and then bongs 2 more times, how many bongs is that altogether? 3 + 2 = ?

Answer key: a) 5 and 8 b) 12 d) 5

Map task

Find it on the UK map

Map task · UK map

Find London on your UK map. Mark Westminster with a small clock symbol.

Mark

  • · London
  • · Westminster
  • · River Thames

mark on your uk map

Not recorded yet

Timeline card

Cut out and add to your timeline

Cut on the dashed line. Place the card near 1859 on your wall timeline.

✂ Cut out · add to timeline
1859🔔

Big Ben first rings

Westminster, London

The great cracked bell finds its voice over London.

Not recorded yet

Word treasury

Today's treasure word

Cut on the dashed line and place in your word treasury.

✂ Word treasury card

Illuminate

/il-LOO-min-ate/

To light something up — or to make an idea easier to understand.

"The old monks would illuminate the first letter of a page with gold and colour."

Decorate the letter I like a medieval monk: colour, pattern, hide a tiny picture inside.

write or decorate the word

Not recorded yet

Draw the inside

Your drawing

Nobody can see through stone, but YOU can. Draw the tower as if it were sliced open: 334 winding steps, the clock faces near the top, the great cracked bell in the belfry, and the little pendulum swinging below with its stack of pennies. Put a tiny Keeper of the Clock somewhere, winding.

drawn by me

Labels

  • · the bell
  • · the clock
  • · the stairs
  • · the pendulum
  • · the pennies
  • · the Keeper