The Newberry herald and news. (Newberry, S.C.) 1884-1903, 1888-12-06
The Biggest Clock in London.
TCassell's Saturday Journal


Big Ben was laundering The hour
of midnight when we reached the foot
of the clock tower. The grating Of the
key in the lock, and the Pickering light
of the oil lamp carried by an attendant,
called up stories Of prisoners who have
purged political ofenses in this gloomy
place. Not with regret did I learn
that refractory Commoners do not
reach their gaol by this narrow stair
case. x The three hundred and odd
steps end in large room. A workman's
bench Uttered with tools, an iron plat
form near the ceiling, and a huge ma
chine arrest the attention. The machine
resembles in general appearance one Of
the latest forms Of newspaper print
ing engines. A square frame work Of
iron rests upon two stone pillars couple
of feet in height. A teach end is large
cylinder covered with twisted steel
rope. The front and back-reached by
a short iron ladder-display wheel upon
wheel and lever upon lever, while tow
ering above are two steel bars fitted
with plates or fans not unlike those
used in ventilating shafts. Such is the
machinery of the great clock at West
minister to an eye unframed in horolo-
cical technicalities. The tick, tick of
the pendulum sounds like the click,
click of hammer upon the anvil; and
no wonder, for the pendulum is fifteen
feet long, and its bob, swinging to and
fro in the darkness below, weighs no
fewer than 700 pounds. This giant
pendulum is compensated for changes
of temperature by zinc and iron tubes;
and with such marvellous regularity
does it maintain its solitary pace that
at one period of the year its accumulat-
ed error for 134 days was only four and
one-half seconds. Hourly signals are
received from Greenwich in order that
comparisons may be made; and twice
a day the clock automatically tele-
graphs its time to the Royal Observa-
tory, where record is kept, and also
to it's makers in the Strand. The clock
is said to be always within two seconds
of Greenwich mean time; and the strik=
ing is effected with such precision that
the first thunder of Big Ben, or any of
his four smaller satellites, may be taken
to denote the hour to second. The
weight that drives the pendulum is
one ton and a half, and is wound UP
once a week, after the fashion of an
ancient hall clock. The weights Of the
hour and quarter trans" are three
tons, and fall from the top to the bot
tom of the tower in four days, at the end
of which they are wound up by means
of steel winches. While we ale listen
ing to these interesting details the lever
moves noiselessly towards the half
hour. With loud click it falls; the
weight rushes down; the steel rope
rattles; and the fan creaks and groans
as it turns round and round. Boom!
boomi the half hour has struck. The
four dials are each twenty-five feet six
inches in diameter, and the space be-
tween every minute marked on the
face is exactly twelve inches. The re-
Electors are four whitewashed walls,
which with the opal glass Of the clock,
form four-cornered corridor round the
tower. Upon each wall at regular in
tervals are gas jets, numbering in all
seventy-six. The hands are exposed to
the air and are occasionally stopped by
heavy SHOWS.