![]() His son, William Cecil, 2nd Earl of Salisbury (1591-1668) split the estate in two, living in Great Salisbury House and letting out Little Salisbury House to tenants. ![]() He was famous for discovering the Gunpowder plot in 1605 and served in Queen Elizabeth I and King James I of England’s government. Robert Cecil built his southside mansion Salisbury House at the turn of the 17th century. The rise and fall of Salisbury House: From a stately home to a den of iniquity Meanwhile, Thomas’s younger brother Robert Cecil, 1st Earl of Salisbury (1563-1612), expanded the family land across the road, acquiring the site of the original Bedford House in 1599. It was renamed Exeter House in the early 17th century when William’s son Thomas Cecil (1542-1623) became the 1st Earl of Exeter. William Cecil, 1st Baron Burghley (1520-1598), originally lived in the 16th century Burghley House on the north side of the Strand, where the Strand Palace Hotel is today. While the Russells moved the name Bedford House from south of the Strand to the north, the Cecils started north before expanding south. It appears it was a case of musical chairs houses for the aristocratic families of Russell and Cecil. Francis’ grandson and heir to the peerage, Edward Russell, 3rd Earl of Bedford (1572-1627) built a second Bedford House on the north side of Strand in 1586, which remained the centre for the family’s estate until it was demolished in 1705-6. Following his death at Russell House in 1555, his home and land passed to his son, Francis, 2nd Earl of Bedford (1527-1585), who also died there. Eleven years later, the Earl took possession of more land in nearby Covent Garden. It was around the Dissolution of the Monasteries, it came under the ownership of the famous landowning family, the Russells. John Russell, 1st Earl of Bedford (1485-1555), acquired some of the Carlisle estate in 1539, naming his home Russell Place (also known as Russell House and becoming later Bedford House). The land was first owned by the Bishop of Carlisle prior to the 16th century. Overlooking the River Thames and dwarfing the nearby Cleopatra’s Needle, the Art Deco structure is the latest in a series of interesting buildings to stand on the site over the centuries. Shell Mex House at No.80 Strand is a few years shy of its 90th birthday. While the clock faces of Big Ben are 23ft (7m) in diameter, there’s actually a bigger clock in the capital – just under a mile down river from Parliament. When it comes to iconic symbols of London, the Palace of Westminster’s time-keeper is up there with the Tower of London. "The Great Clock is designed extremely well and it's accurate to one second to the first strike of each hour.Most of us would agree that the Elizabeth Tower (known more popularly by its nickname ‘Big Ben’ – actually the name of the bell), is one of the world’s most famous clocks. The one dial showing the time when the scaffolding comes down is electric-driven, but all four dials will be run by the original gravity powered clock again in the spring. To give you an example, one of the hands weighs about 305 kilogrammes (672 lbs) and the minute hand is 14 feet long (4.3 metres)." "It's a lot of kit - 11-and-a-half tonnes. "Everything has been restored to its original spec," he said. The original Victorian clock mechanism will take over again when the bells resume their familiar pattern of chiming every quarter and striking every hour in the spring.Īlex Jeffrey, one of three clockmakers at the Palace of Westminster, the parliament building's official name, said the clock had been transported to Cumbria, in northwestern England, to be disassembled and rebuilt. The 12 bongs from the Great Bell - the origin of the name Big Ben - that will mark the turning of the year will be powered by an electric motor. The floral emblems of the four parts of the United Kingdom - the thistle, shamrock, leek and rose - have been repainted in the colours of Charles Barry's original design for the tower, which was renamed after Queen Elizabeth in 2012. "When you stand on the street it's a really nice nod to the past." Sturge said an early watercolour showed a blue colour scheme, which was confirmed by paint analysis that discovered the first coat was Prussian blue.
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