At 9′-0″ diameter, 7′-6″ high, and weighing in at 13 tons 10 cwts 3 qtrs 15lbs (13,760 Kg), the hour bell of the Great Clock of Westminster – known worldwide as ‘Big Ben’ – is the most famous bell ever cast at Whitechapel. This picture, painted by William T. Kimber, the head moulder responsible for casting the bell, shows George Mears with his wife and daughter inspecting the casting prior to despatch.
Big Ben was cast on Saturday 10th April 1858, but its story begins more than two decades earlier….