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Bong! The Condensed History of Big Ben

Adam Long celebrates The Great Clock of the Palace of Westminster. With Simon Jermond and Giles Terera. From 2009.

Big Ben's Bongs were first heard on 主播大秀 Radio on 17th February 1924.

Adam Long, co-founder of the Reduced Shakespeare Company, and his two friends Simon Jermond and Giles Terera, celebrate the Great Clock of the Palace of Westminster and takes a whirlwind musical tour of all things Ben.

It is a story of arduous neo-Gothic design, bells that kept cracking and the invention of something called a double three-legged gravity escapement mechanism.

Originally broadcast to celebrate 150 years of almost continuous time telling by Big Ben.

Producers: Mandy Baker & Giles Terera

First broadcast on 主播大秀 Radio 4 in June 2009.

15 minutes

Last on

Sun 25 Feb 2024 02:15

Broadcasts

  • Wed 3 Jun 2009 20:45
  • Sun 7 Jun 2009 05:45
  • Sat 24 Feb 2024 07:15
  • Sat 24 Feb 2024 12:15
  • Sat 24 Feb 2024 18:15
  • Sun 25 Feb 2024 02:15