§ 41. Mr. Frank Allaunasked the Minister of Works whether he will consider silencing Big Ben between midnight and 6 o'clock a.m., in the interests of patients in St. Thomas's hospital and of other residents.
§ The Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Works (Mr. Harmar Nicholls)My right hon. Friend has had no request that this should be done from the authorities of St. Thomas's Hospital; nor has he any evidence of a general demand.
§ Mr. AllaunI appreciate your special interest in this matter as a resident, Mr. Speaker. Is the hon. Gentleman aware that patients whom I recently visited in St. Thomas's Hospital have told me that they cannot sleep because of this booming nuisance every fifteen minutes? Is he aware that other famous chimes, such 1109 as those of York Minster, Lincoln Cathedral and Coventry Cathedral, are stopped at night, and also that clocks were made for men and not men for clocks?
§ Mr. NichollsThere would be technical objections to interfering with the mechanism of the clock. St. Thomas's Hospital has made it clear recently that it has had no general complaint to justify this action and, from a personal point of view, I can tell the hon. Member that I slept for two years in St. Stephen's Club, which is the nearest point to the clock, and I can assure him that I slept very well.