Ben Caunt - Death and Legacy

Death and Legacy

He died of pneumonia on September 10, 1861 at an address in St. Martin's Lane in London.

Ben Caunt is buried outside the north transept of the Parish Church of St. Mary Magdalene in Hucknall close to the grave of two of his children who died in the Coach and Horses fire.

It is said that "Big Ben", the hour bell of the clock-tower of the Palace of Westminster, is named after this English Heavyweight Champion. The origin of the name is contested with Westminster's Chief Lord of the Woods and Forests, Sir Benjamin Hall. A large and ponderous man known affectionately in the House as "Big Ben", he is said to have given an impressively long speech on the subject. When, at the end of this oratorical marathon, Sir Benjamin sank back into his seat, a wag in the chamber shouted out: "Why not call him Big Ben and have done with it?" The house erupted in laughter; Big Ben had been named. This, at least, is the most commonly accepted story. However, according to the booklet written for the old Ministry of Works by Alan Phillips (1959):

"Like other nice stories, this has no documentary support; Hansard failed to record the interjection. The Times had been alluding to 'Big Ben of Westminster' since 1856. Probably, the derivation must be sought more remotely. The current champion of the prize ring was Benjamin Caunt, who had fought terrific battles with Bendigo, and who in 1857 lasted sixty rounds of a drawn contest in his final appearance at the age of 42. As Caunt at one period scaled 17 stone (238 lbs, or 108 kilogrammes), his nickname was Big Ben, and that was readily bestowed by the populace on any object the heaviest of its class. So the anonymous MP may have snatched at what was already a catchphrase." HMSO