1967: HOW does BIG BEN BONG? | Blue Peter | Science and Nature | BBC Archive

John Noakes (who else?) put his eardrums in the line of duty for Blue Peter when he went inside the clock tower at the Palace of Westminster to find out exactly what made Big Ben, "the most famous clock in the world", bong.

Big Ben, you see, was the name given to the largest bell within the tower - the one that takes care of the appropriate number of 'bongs' that mark the passing of each hour. Blue Peter got special permission to take their cameras up the tower into the bell chamber, to see (and hear) Big Ben in action.

Once the intrepid Mr Noakes had climbed all 336 steps, he got to poke his head out of the clock's east face, see the inner workings of the various gadgets in the machinery room, take a wander round the balcony for an incredible view of the city of London and, finally, brace himself for the mighty bell being struck at extremely close quarters as the bongs rang out for midday.

Clip taken from Blue Peter, originally broadcast on BBC One, Monday 24 April, 1967.

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