London's Big Ben bell was cast at the Whitechapel Bell Foundry
On this day · 10 April 1858
The bell that booms over Westminster was a do-over — the first one cracked, so a second was poured in the East End on April 10, 1858.
On April 10, 1858, the great bell known as Big Ben was cast at the Whitechapel Bell Foundry in London’s East End. At roughly 13.5 tons, it ranks among the largest bells ever made in Britain.
It was actually a second attempt. The first bell, cast in 1856 at Stockton-on-Tees, cracked during testing in Palace Yard. The broken metal was carted to Whitechapel, where founder George Mears — who refused to even bid against rivals — recast it some two tons lighter, following the exact specifications drawn up for the new clock tower.
The finished bell was hauled to the belfry by sixteen horses, then winched 200 feet up the tower.
Its luck stayed mixed. Within a year the recast bell cracked too. Rather than melt it down again, engineers simply rotated it, fitted a lighter hammer, and let it ring — which is why Big Ben still strikes with a faint, beloved imperfection today.
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