Perhaps the worlds most famous clock, Big Ben was named after Benjamin Hall, the Commissioner of Works in London at the time.

Being a jolly rotund gentleman, when the huge bell was cast for the clock, its shape was not dissimilar to Ben whose nickname in Parliament was "Big Ben". Nowadays, the whole tower is referred to affectionately as "Big Ben", whilst strictly speaking, it should only be the bell.

Whilst the original clock was constructed from 1851 to 1853, our scale model was completed exactly 100 years later and made from New Zealand timber, by Mr. Jack Kilburn of Wellington.