
Little Ben - London, UK
Posted by:
GeoRams
N 51° 29.792 W 000° 08.556
30U E 698336 N 5708915
Weathervane is atop Little Ben, a cast iron miniature clock tower, situated at the intersection of Vauxhall Bridge Road and Victoria Street, in Westminster, central London, close to the approach to Victoria station. In design it mimics the clock tower commonly known as Big Ben of the Palace of Westminster found at the other end of Victoria Street.
Waymark Code: WMKW0
Location: United Kingdom
Date Posted: 08/12/2006
Views: 128
Little Ben was manufactured, according to Pevsner, by Gillett & Johnston of Croydon, and was erected in 1892; removed from the site in 1964, and restored and re-erected in 1981 by Westminster City Council with sponsorship from Elf Aquitaine Ltd "offered as a gesture of Franco-British friendship".
Unusually for clocks in Britain, Little Ben is set one hour in advance of Greenwich Mean Time throughout the year. During the summer this coincides with British Summer Time, while in the winter this is the same as Central European Time. Although this means that the clock displays the local time for only half the year, it does demonstrate a preference for neither Britain nor Europe. This sentiment is captured in the rhyming couplet Apology for Summer Time signed J.W.R. affixed to the body of the clock:
My hands you may retard or may advance
my heart beats true for England as for France.
Rate this weathervane: 

|
Visit Instructions:Visit to existing waymarks
must be accompanied by a new, original photo you took while visiting the weather vane.
If you have any additional information on the weathervane to share, please do so. Give the date and an account of your visit.