Rob, how do you manage all this detailed research in a single week? You've done it again; presented an in-depth history of an iconic London landmark that has stood the test of time since the mid-Nineteenth Century. Bravo!

@Robslondon

6 ай бұрын

Paul, that means a great deal to me. Thank you so much sir and stay well.

@JP_TaVeryMuch

6 ай бұрын

He's got a mouldy semi in Hounslow full of "language students" chained to their desks doing all the research for little better than slave wages, don'tya know?!

@rasheadallen8594

Ай бұрын

Get your tongue out 😂

Anybody visiting London should watch Rob‘s videos first. You learn so much and end up walking the streets of London with a total different view. Thanks Rob for all your work x

@Robslondon

6 ай бұрын

Sandra, that is so kind of you to say. Many thanks indeed :-)

Hello Rob I am so impressed with video. Well researched and edited. We visited the church bell foundry in 2016 and I should have let you know as I have pictures of it when it was open. We believe that Big Ben was name for Sir Ben Hall. In the foundry there a written history of the bell and it states it is named for him. We did purchase a small bell which was made there in White Chapel. We love the Elizabeth tower and right now it looks fabulous in the gold and blue. When we 0:34 first visited London it was the number one item to see because I have two pictures one my dad drew as a teenager in the 50s and I picture of my grandfather with the tower behind when visited in London in 1970. He was born in London 1903. Loved the home movie addition. I had better stop now as I can go on for ever. Thanks and take care Chris and Sandra of Canada.

@Robslondon

6 ай бұрын

What a beautiful comment. Thank you so much for taking the time to share your memories; hope you're both keeping well :-)

Hi Rob Another great video, years ago I worked for a very old eccentric gent who lived in Hampstead. His house was old and rickety, but there was wealth, anyway one day I was working out the back and he called me in to his study, he had a huge old leather topped victoriana desk, he asked me to unjam the top drawer, and to my amazement, it was blocked by the solid silver ceremonial trowel used for the foundation brick on Parliament, his great grandfather and apparently cousin, built parliament, and Nelson column, along with a few other high profile buildings The name was Thomas Grissell, and his cousin? Peto Perhaps you might find out more. As alwayslove your content Mike.

@navelriver

6 ай бұрын

We look for history, but sometimes history looks for us!

@Robslondon

6 ай бұрын

Wow!! I need to know more about this Mike!

@mikereilly5005

6 ай бұрын

Hi Rob It was a bit late last night to reply, I thought my post would peak your interest, what else would you like to know? Mike

@Robslondon

6 ай бұрын

I'd love to know where the trowel is now ;-)@@mikereilly5005

@mikereilly5005

6 ай бұрын

There were 3 trowels, 1 for Barry's wife who, laid the first brick, and one each for grissell and peto, who also laid a bed of mortar, this was told to me at the time I discovered it, by grissells grandson. Mike

Rob, I'm a Londoner, born and bread ,you tell me more about my home town than I ever heard of, please keep up the good work 👍

@Robslondon

6 ай бұрын

That means a lot to me Robert, thanks you. Stay well.

Another wonderful presentation. Many Thanks.

@Robslondon

6 күн бұрын

Thanks!

Excellent as always, Rob. This remarkable city, which I adopted 50 years ago, has a ridiculous amounts of history behind it. Thanks for doing the research to make these videos possible.

@Robslondon

6 ай бұрын

Bless you Peter; it's a pleasure. Stay well my friend and thank you.

Great Sunday night video 👌

@Robslondon

6 ай бұрын

Bless you Paul, thank you!

Hi Rob, this is in my opinion one of your most interesting uploads. I went up inside the tower in around 1980. I was working on a programme for the BBC, though I can’t recall what it was. I don’t know whether you know but the actual mechanism of the clock is still regulated by a pile of pre decimal pennies. I didn’t know that a previous Westminster bell was now in St Paul’s cathedral. I think you are probably right about it being a case of the fame of Big Ben the boxer rubbing off on Benjamin Hall. After all, the working men who laboured on building the new Westminster and all those in the vicinity had no vote and probably had never heard of the latter gentleman.

@Robslondon

6 ай бұрын

Brilliant comment Mark, thank you! Was it for Blue Peter? Peter Duncan climbed up the clock in 1980, similar to John Noakes' climb up Nelson's Column a few years prior to that!

😮 My previous misconcrption was that both Big Ben and America's Liberty bell were cast in Whitechapel 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 - now I find I was right but that the 'original' bell was cast at Stockton on Tees 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 - a fact I had never previously known !! (Thanks Rob) Again I'm learning, not only with each viewing, but also along side every word I type !! It does, however, make me wonder just how much / how many Americans know the history of their "Liberty Bell" 🇺🇸?! 😊❤🖖

@Robslondon

6 ай бұрын

:-)

@JP_TaVeryMuch

6 ай бұрын

Not enough to save Liberty Bell's birthplace alas. Neither country did enough, did we?

You never disappoint, Rob. Another meticulously researched and thoroughly entertaining post.

@Robslondon

6 ай бұрын

Much appreciated Neil, thank you!

rob dear, that was another wonderful little history lesson - everything a history lesson should be. ❤❤❤❤❤ and what a charming little cutie you were! of course!

@Robslondon

6 ай бұрын

Oh, thank you so much! 😂

@hellie_el

6 ай бұрын

@@Robslondon ❤️

Another set of informative and entertaining stories. Thanks Rob!

@Robslondon

6 ай бұрын

Thanks so much Paul!

Brilliant video as always Rob - fascinating to learn about Old Tom too ❤

@Robslondon

6 ай бұрын

Thanks so much Louise ☺️ Hope you’re keeping well

Many thanks, Rob. It's always great to hear your stories.❤

@Robslondon

6 ай бұрын

Thanks Johnathan 😊

Thanks Rob another interesting and informative presentation. Hopefully the old bell foundry can be preserved as it’s such an important part of the history of London.

@Robslondon

6 ай бұрын

Thanks Nigel, and yes- very much agreed. Stay well mate.

Your research and presentation are superb Rob 🤗 Thank you once again for bringing yet another amazing episode to us. It was fabulous 🙂

@Robslondon

6 ай бұрын

Thank you so much Christine, I really appreciate that 😊

Dear Rob. Thank you for such a well informed and interesting video. Much needed diversion today and I enjoyed it very much. I hope you enjoy researching and making these videos as much as we all love watching them! All the best, Clair

@Robslondon

6 ай бұрын

Bless you Clair, thank you :-) I do enjoy making them yes!

London has turned quite nasty these days but at least we still have this old boy gracing the London skyline. I used to love stopping on the bridge and listening to the hour chime.

@Robslondon

6 ай бұрын

😉

You do not disappoint so much history and the many faces that tower has had. Well done and thank you great viewing I learn loads every time❤️

@Robslondon

6 ай бұрын

Much appreciated Tracy, thank you 😊

Such great storytelling

@Robslondon

Ай бұрын

Much appreciated, thank you!

I'm with you, Rob, in that if someone mentions Big Ben we know darn well they're talking about the clock tower and not to get our knickers in a twist over semantics 😂 Another great video, thanks

@Robslondon

6 ай бұрын

Cheers Darren! 🤣

Been meaning to contribute to the videos for a while now, excellent work again Rob!

@Robslondon

6 ай бұрын

I really appreciate that Metranomix, thank you so much.

Thanks again for another great and interesting video. So much information that I didn't know. Brilliant narrative well researched.

@Robslondon

6 ай бұрын

Thanks! 😉

Another brilliant video, and a lovely tribute to Augustus Pugin. Who was also the man responsible for the house that gave it's name to Alton Towers theme park. Such a shame that that example of his work is just an empty shell, but another iconic contribution in it's own right.

@Robslondon

6 ай бұрын

Thanks so much MagicKiller- and that’s fascinating, I had no idea he’d designed that Manor House. Cheers and stay well.

11:45 Am I the only one to think “Gentrified luxury apartments development” is where this is heading? That aside, another interesting and fascinating video Rob.

@Robslondon

6 ай бұрын

Fancy hotel I'm afraid...

Love it. Thanks for answering the question. I had always wondered myself. Great fascinating research as ever Rob. Thank you

@Robslondon

6 ай бұрын

Thanks Doug 😉

When it comes to London History thankfully we have Big Rob 💪 Fab Rob as usual.

@Robslondon

6 ай бұрын

😄 Thank you!

Wonderful episode, Rob! I enjoyed.learning about Old Tom (the other day I posted a short of him and his cohort banging away. Had to add a note after watching your video).

@Robslondon

6 ай бұрын

Ah, thank you! :-)

Always interesting Rob, thank you

@Robslondon

6 ай бұрын

Thanks Deb

Like you, I'm perfectly okay with calling the whole tower Big Ben. It is a device of the English language called a metonym. For instance, when we say we'll boil the kettle we actually mean we'll be boiling the water inside it. Boiling a kettle would be rather futile! 😄 Great video!

@Robslondon

6 ай бұрын

Ha ha ;-) Spot on Brian!

Another excellent video, thank you.

@Robslondon

6 ай бұрын

It's a pleasure sparky, thank you.

Thanks Rob, very entertaining

@Robslondon

6 ай бұрын

Thanks Rob!

Great content. I enjoyed watching it and loved it. Thank you Robert.👍👍👍😍😍😍

@Robslondon

6 ай бұрын

Thank you 😁

My 5 year old neighbor ALWAYS refers to the tower as the Elizabeth Tower. I now have Big Ben as my ringtone as well.

@Robslondon

6 ай бұрын

:-D

A bright note on Remembrence Day is a video from Rob. Any day I learn something new is a good day and today is a very good day indeed! Bang on as usual Sir!

@Robslondon

6 ай бұрын

Bless you John, thank you.

lovely! thanks for this!

@Robslondon

6 ай бұрын

Thank you Carl 😊

I was lucky enough to visit the Tower some years ago. I was in the bell room to see and hear it strike 11.00. Not as deafening as you might think. Good video.

@Robslondon

6 ай бұрын

Wow! 😉

❤ Fabulous! Definitely one of your best 👍

@Robslondon

6 ай бұрын

Thanks Rachel, much appreciated

Another brilliant video, thanks for your rime and effort.

@Robslondon

6 ай бұрын

It's a pleasure ;-) Thank you.

Great video as always, my friend. 😊

@Robslondon

6 ай бұрын

Much appreciated, thank you!

Hi Rob, always impressed with the amount of detail you manage to find out about these places, a very professional and informative watch as usual, many thanks

@Robslondon

6 ай бұрын

Thank you so much Pam :-)

These side stories are as interesting as the main story. Im definitely going to spare a thought for Augustus Pugin when next passing”The Clock Tower” . I might even raise a glass to Boxer Ben in The Salisbury

@Robslondon

6 ай бұрын

Bless you Michelle 🙂

Well Rob, just imagine if the bell hadn't cracked you opening chimes and drawings wouldnt have had the tone of all your offerings to us 😎 Cheers DougT upt north.

@Robslondon

6 ай бұрын

🤣 Cheers Doug!

As always, an absolutely brilliant, and well researched video Rob. Wish that you had been my history teacher at school ha ha. Looking at the pic of Junior Rob, you haven't changed a bit my friend.

@Robslondon

6 ай бұрын

Bless you Barry 😊 Stay well sir.

Another mesmerising and exceedingly great account of the houses of Westminster and Big Ben. Like yourself i still prefer to use the name Big Ben and would argue more people wpuld know it by that than the Elizabeth Tower. Another interesting nugget, if in fact it is all true, came from a visit to All Saint's Church in the Parish of West Ham. Whilst walking round this beautiful church i was informed that its own clock tower was indeed a prototype for Westminster's Tower in regards ro the clock's mechanisms and striking of Big Ben. The man responsible was called Lord Grimtnorpe. I did do a bit of wiki searching and yes, it appears this is the case. But i know Wiki is not the best source of historical facts. Thanks for a great video.

@Robslondon

6 ай бұрын

Very interesting, thank you!

The last time I was in London in 2019, I wasn't able to go inside Big Ben since it was still under renovation. Great video as always Rob ❤

@Robslondon

6 ай бұрын

Thanks blackcoffy :-) Hope you make it back soon; it looks incredible now. Stay well.

I wondered what my ex meant when she said "I'm off to live with an old tom in Westminster!" 😆

@Robslondon

6 ай бұрын

😆

Wow, I never realized how beautifully ornate it is. It's amazing!!

@Robslondon

6 ай бұрын

😄

@JP_TaVeryMuch

6 ай бұрын

It's just been unwrapped of its scaffolding and has been returned to the original paintwork which is why it looks so fresh and clean.

'In my book' seeing a vlog / video by Robslondon means I should learn something and can then help educate others - should they express a desire to learn. I think learning is s delight (if correctly / pleassntly taught) hence, these videos, falling under both descriptions, are "a must see" 😊 My thanks are added to others here for Rob's excellent research and pleasant presentation. Learning is so much easier this way and I enjoy each video because of it. (The "most gruesome" / "unpleassnt histories" notwithstanding of course !) 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿🤔🇬🇧🤔💙🧡❤️🖖

@Robslondon

6 ай бұрын

That means so much to me Brigid, thank you so much. Stay well.

@brigidsingleton1596

6 ай бұрын

@@Robslondon You're very welcome, Rob. Thank you. Likewise, stay safe and stay well. 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿🖖

They should use your videos in schools to keep our heritage alive👍bravo.

@Robslondon

6 ай бұрын

Thank you so much... I hope they do, I need the views! ;-) Cheers and stay well.

Fantastic video in all ways . The production is absolutely first class ...non of the usuall waving the camera around etc . Thank you , very interesting.

@Robslondon

6 ай бұрын

I really appreciate that Ken, thank you so much.

well done rob 10 out of 10 for all your vlogs rob well done sir

@Robslondon

6 ай бұрын

Thanks very much Richard

@richardcoombes9491

6 ай бұрын

cheers @@Robslondon

Rob, greetings again from Thailand, only 13 minutes past midnight at home 07.14 here. Yet again, another superlative video, so detailed your and delivered so fluentently. There is so much information to digest as to whom Big Ben was. It's hard to come up with a positive from answer, big Ben the boxer is nearest to the weight of the bell. Did my reply get to you following your last video?

@Robslondon

6 ай бұрын

Hi Butch, many thanks indeed. I think I saw your last comment? Stay well.

Excellent as usual. Thank you.

@Robslondon

6 ай бұрын

It's a pleasure, thank you!

Atop Big Ben: a fitting place for the internet. 🤓😛😂

Great video Rob, brilliant.

@Robslondon

6 ай бұрын

Thank you Michael 😊

As always, a very interesting vid. Thank your for that! Greetings from germany 🙋‍♀️

@Robslondon

6 ай бұрын

Thank you so much 😊 🇩🇪

it's one of my favorite sounds in the world.

@Robslondon

6 ай бұрын

Lovely comment, thank you :-)

Interesting video, I have a mini Big Ben on my table

@Robslondon

Ай бұрын

Nice! 😉

Excellent video as always Rob.

@Robslondon

6 ай бұрын

Thank you John!

Lovely work Rob. Only time I've passed Big Ben, was on the marathon. Lovely iconic tower though.

@Robslondon

6 ай бұрын

You did the London Marathon? Full respect 😉

@paulmerryman

6 ай бұрын

@@Robslondon Twice, like once wasn't enough. 😄

Thanks!

@Robslondon

6 ай бұрын

Thank you so, so much hellie-el; so kind of you 😊

@hellie_el

6 ай бұрын

@@Robslondon ❤️

I ❤ Big Ben's Bongs. Should be a t-shirt.

@Robslondon

27 күн бұрын

🤣

Yet another brilliant piece of history by Rob. If I wore a hat I would take it down in your honour, sir. Thank you. I always look forward to your episodes.

@Robslondon

6 ай бұрын

Bless you HeimirTomm :-) Thank you so much.

@HeimirTomm

6 ай бұрын

@@Robslondon Honestly, you have one of the best channels on youtube. Two things I wait in anticipation for, yours and @Cuttingedgeengineering. Not really the same but then, I have varied interests.

@Robslondon

6 ай бұрын

@@HeimirTomm Thank you so much. I can't tell you how much that means to me. Stay well my friend.

Very informative

@Robslondon

6 ай бұрын

Thank you

Great video. So who was Old Tom named after?

@Robslondon

6 ай бұрын

Not entirely sure! There was a fellow called Old Tom who claimed he was a ridiculous age (about 150 or something), but not 100% sure if it was related to him.

Awesome! But I worry that my repeated praise could be misconstrued as insincere flattery which it is not. I really do find the deep research both in words, pictures and drawings uniquely impressive. For example, like the videos seen so far, and this Big Ben one, I am sure that 90% of the population have no idea about the intricate history involved in them and this tower, bell and place. I will try to be less gushing as I work through your videos in order to ensure they are seen as genuine. Lol Rob

@Robslondon

Ай бұрын

Bless you Rob... your praise means a great deal to me, so feel free, ha ha! It really does help with the algorithm too; so much appreciated ;-)

An interesting documentary Rob. It seems as if British Bells have a habit of cracking. I suspect that it was named after Sir Benjamin Hall but Big Ben was catchier as alliterative names or nicknames usually are whether Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck or closer to (fictional) London, Dirty Den.

@Robslondon

6 ай бұрын

Cheers ;-)

Takk!

@Robslondon

5 ай бұрын

Takk skal du ha! That is so kind of you :-) Stay well.

Never knew the history of our famous Massive Muhammad so thanks for enlightening us

@Robslondon

Ай бұрын

Thanks for watching!

Definitely the boxer deserves the honour.

@Robslondon

6 ай бұрын

Agreed 😉 Thanks for watching WickedFelina!

One of your best yet Rob, thank you. It is such a shame that the nickname Old Tom didn't stick. Wouldn't it be brilliant for a new year to be heralded by Old Tom chiming midnight. For me unfortunately the boxer is in second place.

@Robslondon

6 ай бұрын

Cheers Slycockney ;-)

Thanks Rob, once again an incredibly interesting video. Well done.😊 That’s a very good question, who was Big Ben??? I cannot make my mind up on that one😢😢 It was a shame the foundry closed. Did they go out of business do you know or did they just relocate?

@Robslondon

6 ай бұрын

Thanks Ron! As far a I know they went out of business, not sure if they're continuing elsewhere. They're currently trying to turn the site into a hotel.

@JP_TaVeryMuch

6 ай бұрын

There's a whole unedifying tale behind the unbelievable demise of the Whitechapel foundry. Famously one of the oldest going concerns in Europe, it seems that they rubbed up some little Hitler in authority locally the wrong way for some reason. A slightly suspect series of new regulations, planning laws, business rates and so on ~ all seemingly interpreted in a strangely unhelpful to the company way did for the business. If you have a spare tenor bell in need of a brush up, there's one foundry left. In the Midlands I think. Or somewhere in the Netherlands and that's about your lot. Apparently business is slow these days and has been for quite some time. Lastly the situation is SO bad that in Italy - you know that country with that big church in that tiny city state where half the Christian community of the planet believes that the Good Lord's representative on earth has his gaff - churches, chapels and the like are closing and rapidly selling off their ring of bells to new places of worship springing up in Africa!

More than 85 years cracked before I was born

@Robslondon

22 күн бұрын

😄

Big Ben strikes one!

@Robslondon

27 күн бұрын

😉

Are, but which way is it leaning, to the left or right as my old commerce teacher commented one lesson.

@Robslondon

6 ай бұрын

🤔

so is big ben just one note? is it the lowest note? or does it not make little tunes like other bell towers? other bells must be huge and heavy too..

@Robslondon

6 ай бұрын

As far as I know it is the bell which strikes the hour...

@JP_TaVeryMuch

6 ай бұрын

​@@Robslondon and was the bell which tolled spine-tinglingly with muffled clapper for HlateMtheQ's funeral service.

Bet you got a sixpence for that tooth Rob? Hope you spent it well. 😇😁🇬🇧🙏 Fantastic Fact's.,. Ben the fighter or Ben the big nose to look down🧐 well we know through time who we have tried to be 👍⚖️🇬🇧 I remember the Whitechapel works closing 😢💔💯 🇬🇧 But THANKS 🙏 Rob of TODAY of all days😜😳💪 ⁉️ we will remember with LONDONER'S That won't FORGET 💔🙏😇 Bless brov bless..🇬🇧💯

@Robslondon

6 ай бұрын

Really appreciate that Gary; cheers mate and stay well 😉

TITANIC + THIS BELL , ENGLISH ALWAYS TRYING TO GO BEYOND THE BEYOND!!!!!!

@Robslondon

6 ай бұрын

Ha ha ;-)

Great video Rob, how much did u get for that missing tooth when you was a kid 😂 probably 10p like I would of got.

@Robslondon

6 ай бұрын

🤣

👍👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

I rather think that the boxer "Big Ben" would hold more sway with the general poplace, eg "the common man", than an official of "The Board of Works" as few people - then (?!) And now, tend to hold "officialdom" in any real sense of "high regard" and thus the 'big bell' would more likely (in my opinion) share the boxer's 'famous' name - even if 'glossed over' by (some) historians later. ❤

wonder if Ben Caunt had anything to do with a bell ringing in between rounds

@Robslondon

Ай бұрын

Interesting point

Then used a smaller hammer and the same bell still in use today

@Robslondon

4 ай бұрын

Correct

The Latin phrase should sound like "Dis-kee-tay Ee-oos-titty-am Moh-nee-tee"

@Robslondon

6 ай бұрын

🫢

The minister of works obviously. An imprssive individual; his name is cast into the bell..sort of a giveaway.

@Robslondon

6 ай бұрын

🤔

Cracked because the hammer that used was too big

@Robslondon

4 ай бұрын

Yep

Big Brenda according to the Two Ronnie’s.

@Robslondon

Ай бұрын

😄

Enjoy the Ko-Fis 😇

@Robslondon

6 ай бұрын

I really appreciate your support Wagner, thank you my friend! ;-)

Thanks for uploading Rob, brilliant and detailed as usual... It's just a shame that the center or our beautiful Capital City is a bit of a no-go zone for the civilized at weekends, especially with children. May it end very soon. Cheers, another Rob.🙂

21:25 bell end.

@Robslondon

5 ай бұрын

Ha ha

Back then Stockton on Tees was in North Yorkshire, NOT County Durham. It became part of the new authority of Teesside in 1974 (later called 'Cleveland') until that was abolished in 1996. Following that the area of the town north of the River Tees became incorporated into County Durham and that area south of the Tees returned to North Yorkshire. Tut tut! Poor research!! 😉

@Robslondon

5 ай бұрын

We all make mistakes Andy.

@andypandy9013

5 ай бұрын

@@Robslondon 👍🤣

Cracked in 1859

@Robslondon

Ай бұрын

Yep

I know a guy from Michigan who is really fat. His name is Ben, we call him Big Ben so maybe it's named after him?

@Robslondon

6 ай бұрын

Ha ha ;-)

I really want to be snarky…😏

@Robslondon

6 ай бұрын

ha ha ;-)

6‘ 2” isn’t all that tall. Many young men are taller than that where I live. Over 6’ 7” is what we would call tall.

@Robslondon

6 ай бұрын

It was tall in the 1830s/40s when many people were severely undernourished...

In tests was a small crack

@Robslondon

12 күн бұрын

Ok

Big Ben cracked and it was a small crack

@Robslondon

12 күн бұрын

Yep

'What do you think?' I think that from time immemorial the rich of this city have plundered the cultural capital of the working classes and repurposed it as their own, while doing their best to annihilate the very working classes they are so dependent on for their food, safety, and cultural relevance.

@Robslondon

20 күн бұрын

Ok….