So, Big Ben Binged its last Bong yesterday for four years – apart from on VIO’s (Very Important Occasions).
Who would have thought a clock could arouse such passion and whip up such a hoo-ha? But then, we know how important the Clock Tower in Crouch End is to the identity of the area and how beloved it is of local people.





The bell itself was originally meant to be called Royal Victoria. A great sense of ceremony surrounded its arrival in London. It was brought down the Thames by barge and then taken across Westminster Bridge by a carriage drawn by 16 white horses in 1859 (two previous bells had cracked and failed previously).
