Missing The Big Ben

British Heritage Series

House Of Gharats was founded in Great Britain, and for Neishaa Gharat, founder and creative director, it is now her home away from home. Britain has a wealth of history, culture and diversity, and there is so much to inspire our designs, including the connections to the Commonwealth and its multicultural fabric and it felt only right to celebrate this rich history and culture through our British Heritage Series.

The chimes that echoed through generations have inspired a new scarf collection.

A scarf collection dedicated to British heritage, inspired by the silencing of Big Ben in 2017 and our desire to explore the decades this much loved clock tower has lived through since it’s construction in 1843. The collection has allowed us to express our love for this iconic landmark in a grand way.

Scarf & Pocket Square Collection

The beloved Big Ben

Tourists and locals alike often say “Big Ben” when referring to the landmark tower at the Houses of Parliament. However, it is the bell within this iconic tower which is referred to as Big Ben. It is situated on the banks of the River Thames on the north side of the Houses of Parliament in Westminster, London. The clock tower gleams at day and night as its four clock faces illuminate and can be seen from afar in the heart of London.

Not only is Big Ben one of the most recognisable British icons. The clock tower has also served to symbolize the continued functioning of the British government, particularly in wartime. The official name of the tower in which Big Ben is located was originally the Clock Tower, but it was renamed Elizabeth Tower in 2012 to mark the Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II.

A towering beacon of British heritage

To build the Elizabeth Tower, materials were gathered from all over the United Kingdom, including cast iron girders from Regent’s Canal Ironworks. Yorkshire Anston stone and Cornish granite were used on the exterior, also a Birmingham foundry supplied the Tower’s iron roofing plates. Big Ben and the Tower are truly representative of our British heritage and it felt like the perfect addition to our British heritage series.

The tower was designed by architect Augustus Pugin in a neo-Gothic style. Big Ben is a masterpiece of Gothic Revival architecture, from the large expanse of glass to the sharply pointed spires and use of natural materials. We were able to represent this architectural style by including the sun & moon in the centre of our scarf’s design, surrounded by gargoyles which are also representative of gothic architecture.

The style of the scarf itself is based upon the work of William Morris, most popular for his repeating designs for textiles. William Morris was born in 1834, nine years later Big Ben was constructed, in 1843. For the design of the ‘Missing Big Ben’ collection we wanted to focus on a style which has been around at the time, and so the idea to repeat Big Ben four times, in a similar way to Morris came to mind.

The life and times of the Big Ben

Restorers and clockmakers, keep it ticking

Building and restoring Big Ben is no easy task, it’s an extremely enduring job to build and maintain this very tall tower. Therefore, to pay tribute to those who built, manage and maintain this exquisite building, from the builders, to the clockmakers, we have featured silhouettes of those workers on the scarf. One of the clock towers in our design depicts the exact number of staircases within the tower, again to celebrate the craftsmanship which has gone into the creation of this iconic structure.

Faces of the coin

Coins have been incorporated into the design of the scarf to represent the different eras in which they were in circulation, with every recent British monarch being featured on a coin. The 150th anniversary of the Elizabeth Tower, the Great Clock and Big Ben was celebrated in 2009. This means that Big Ben has been around through the reigns of six monarchs in total, showing just how important this tower is to our British heritage. The scarf depicts this time scale using six coins, each with the face of a different monarch who has reigned throughout Big Ben’s lifetime; Elizabeth II, George VI, Edward VIII, George V, Edward VII and Victoria.

Gargoyles served both beauty and purpose

Gargoyles are carved stone creatures that serve both ornamental and practical purposes. The gargoyles act as water spouts to channel water away from a building to prevent the mortar between the stone bricks eroding, the water typically exiting through the mouth. Gargoyles are said to scare off and protect from any evil or harmful spirits, with some of the most famous gargoyles in the world are on top of Big Ben. The Gargoyles can be seen in the centre of our scarfs’ design, to reflect their importance in Gothic architecture and that of Big Ben.

The bell and 16 white horses just as from a fairy tale

The first ever bell to be placed inside the Tower of London was cast by Warners of Norton near Stockton-on-Tees in August 1856. A great sense of ceremony surrounded its arrival in London, where it was placed on a carriage and transported to the construction site by 16 white horses. It was important to depict the history of Big Ben on the scarf, this has been shown through the inclusion of the sixteen flying white horses.

The second star to the right and straight on till morning 

A beloved childhood favourite, Peter Pan represents hope and childhood. In the design of the scarf Peter, Tinkerbell and the Darling children have been depicted soaring past Big Ben and on to the second star to the right to get to Neverland. The story of Peter Pan has been around for more than 100 years, and was perfect escape for children during WWII, in which the bombings of London made children want to retreat to the joyful fantasy world of Peter Pan.

Mary Poppins, infinite joy

Mary Poppins, was created in 1984 by P.L Travers in his first novel in a series of children’s books. The titular character is a sensible English nanny with magical powers, this book uses mythological allusion and biting social critique to explore the fraught relationship between children and adults.

Mary Poppins has been played to more than 200 million people and continues to put a smile on the faces of children all over the world. In Disney’s musical adaptation of Mary Poppins, the magical nanny floats past Big Ben with her umbrella, a scene that is surely memorable; two British icons are seen together which is why this is encapsulated in our new ‘Missing Big Ben’ scarf.

Over the years Mary Poppins has been used as a symbol for action, in 2017 an image depicting the film character Mary Poppins wearing a pollution mask floated in the air near Big Ben, during a photocall by Greenpeace to highlight the levels of air pollution in the capital. She flew over parliament to remind politicians that their actions will impact future generations, showing that this iconic clock tower has played a backdrop to momentous events in London’s history.

A helicopter ride fit for the Queen

The Elizabeth tower has been witness to many important events and featured in the opening ceremony film for the 2012 Olympic Games. In the film the helicopter flew past the clock tower, before two people dressed as the Queen and Bond jumped out and ­parachuted towards the stadium. When you look closely at the design of the scarf collection you can see a helicopter which has an image of the crown and british flag upon it.

On a tour of the Olympic Park the following day Her Majesty told the then London Mayor Boris Johnson: ‘It all seemed to go very well last night. But I didn’t see my bit.’ In return Boris told her: ‘You were ­brilliant Ma’am,’ and she responded ‘It was a bit of a laugh.’

We wanted to include the royal helicopter in the design of the scarf to depict the strong tie between the royal family and this famous London landmark.

Poppies, a backdrop to courage and duty

The symbol for our heroes who fought for this country in the war the poppy is an iconic part of British History. To commemorate one hundred years since the outbreak of World War One a projection of falling poppies light up Big Ben to pay tribute to war veterans. The design of the scarf not only depicts these beautiful flowers and all they stand for, but the clock time on the right of the scarf also shows the time 11:11 as a tribute of the memorial day.

The Tardis – time-y wimey

Dr Who, is one of the most loved British non-fiction stories, easily recognisable by the Tardis. One of the most famous scenes in Dr Who is when the Tardis collides into Big Ben, and we have embodied this iconic police box into our scarf collection.

Selfie tourist hot spot

The Queen Elizabeth Tower together with Big Ben is one of the world’s most photographed landmarks in Britain, with 8780 selfies taken at Big Ben it is the most popular landmark in London. We wanted to celebrate this love by dedicating one of the four corners of our design to the millions of visitors who flock to Big Ben every year.

The ‘Missing Big Ben’ scarf is a celebration of some of the most recognisable British icons.

We at House of Gharats as a design house found in Britain are proud of the extensive heritage and rich culture that has given our city of London the rank as a global city, with amazing attractions and a diverse range of people that are united by love.