The origin of Saved By The Bell lies at the Horse Guard Parade in London though the phrase is strongly associated with boxing. Famously, one night, during Victorian times, a guard was accused of being asleep on duty. He denied the charge and claimed to have heard the bell of Big Ben chime 13 times at midnight, instead of 12. The charge was so serious that the clock mechanism was checked and it was discovered that a cog was out of line and so Big Ben would indeed chime 13 times. And so, on this evidence, the guard was freed - saved by the bell!