An inscription in Latin below each clock face translates as "God save our Queen Victoria I".Īt the time of its construction, the clock mechanism was easily the largest in the world, and it is still among the largest today. The numbers on the clock faces are each two feet high. Several of the central pieces of glass can be removed to allow inspection of the hands from inside the clock tower. The dials are 23 feet in diameter and the faces themselves are not solid, but is composed of many small pieces of opal glass, assembled like a stained glass window. The cast-iron frame of the clock face was designed by AW Pugin, who was responsible for much of the Gothic decorative elements of the Palace of Westminster.
Several small rooms are built into the lower part of the tower, including a small prison cell. A staircase rises up inside the tower, and a climb is rewarded by excellent views from the belfry level.
The spire that rises above the belfry is built with an iron frame, and it is this frame which supports the weight of the bells. The clock tower of the Palace of Westminster took 13 years to build and was completed in 1856. Charles Barry was given the contract to rebuild the Palace, and his designs included a clock tower. The tower was begun following the disastrous fire which destroyed the old Palace of Westminster in 1834. Let's clear up a common misconception first technically speaking, the name "Big Ben" does not refer to the famous tower, nor to the four huge clock faces of this London landmark instead, it refers to the largest of the five bells inside the clock tower, whose chimes are such a familiar sound to listeners to BBC radio over the years. A light above Big Ben is also lit to let the public know when Parliament is in session.When most people hear the words "Big Ben" they immediately conjure up an image of the striking Victorian Gothic structure of the clock tower of the Palace of Westminster (the Houses of Parliament). At night, all four of the clock’s faces, each one 23 feet across, are illuminated. Its famously accurate timekeeping is regulated by a stack of coins placed on the clock’s huge pendulum, ensuring a steady movement of the clock hands at all times. Another famous story argues that the bell was named for the popular heavyweight boxer Benjamin Caunt, because it was the largest of its kind.Įven after an incendiary bomb destroyed the chamber of the House of Commons during the Second World War, Elizabeth Tower survived, and Big Ben continued to function. Many claim it was named after the famously long-winded Sir Benjamin Hall, the London commissioner of works at the time it was built. Two main stories exist about how Big Ben got its name. The name “Big Ben” originally just applied to the bell but later came to refer to the clock itself.
While many clockmakers dismissed this goal as impossible, Airy counted on the help of Edmund Beckett Denison, a formidable barrister known for his expertise in horology, or the science of measuring time. The royal astronomer, Sir George Airy, wanted the clock to have pinpoint accuracy, including twice-a-day checks with the Royal Greenwich Observatory. The famous tower clock known as Big Ben, located at the top of the 320-foot-high Elizabeth Tower, rings out over the Houses of Parliament in Westminster, London, for the first time on May 31, 1859.Īfter a fire destroyed much of the Palace of Westminster-the headquarters of the British Parliament-in October 1834, a standout feature of the design for the new palace was a large clock atop a tower.
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