London, Westminster Hall, Big Ben and the Bridge

(2 Photos)

Among the thirty-five-year-old memories evoked by this photo is the comment by our daughter as we were leaving London, "You didn’t take a picture of Big Ben!" We found a parking place, and then with the bright setting sun conveniently hidden behind a lamp post, Big Ben and Westminster Hall are in silhouette on the far side of the Westminster Bridge, which crosses the Thames River. The profile of the lion statue and the street lamps (of different eras) are charming accents in front of London’s famous City Hall.

Well now, to be really accurate, the clock is “The Great Clock of Westminster,” and the name Big Ben actually refers not to the clock-tower itself, but to the 13 ton bell hung within the tower.
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Well, here’s Westminister Hall with Big Ben, just about 10 years after the photo above, and it sure doesn’t look like it has changed much in that time period. But since Big Ben was cast on Saturday 10th April 1858, with the first chime rung in situ on 31st May 1859, and work began on Westminister Hall in 1840 and formally opened in 1852, ten years is a small period of time in the life of these beautiful structures.