Big Ben is the nickname for the great bell of the clock at the north end of the Palace

of Westminster in London. It celebrated its 150th anniversary in May 2009,[4] during which celebratory events took place.[5][6] The clock first ticked on 31 May 1859.

A clock tower was built at Westminster in 1856, with the fine-money of Ralph Hengham, Chief Justice of the King's Bench.[7][8] The present tower was raised as a part of Charles Barry's design for a new palace, after the old Palace of Westminster was destroyed by fire on the night of 16 October 1834. The new Parliament was built in a Neo-gothic style. Although Barry was the chief architect of the Palace, he turned to Augustus Pugin for the design of the clock tower, which resembles earlier Pugin designs, including one for Scarisbrick Hall. The design for the Clock Tower was Pugin's last design before his final descent into madness and death, and Pugin himself wrote, at the time of Barry's last visit to him to collect the drawings: "I never worked so hard in my life for Mr Barry for tomorrow I render all the designs for finishing his bell tower & it is beautiful."[9] The tower is designed in Pugin's celebrated Gothic Revival style, and is 96.3 metres (315.9 ft) high (roughly 16 stories).[10] There are six shields above each of the four clock faces, twenty-four in total, all depicting the arms of St George, representing the Flag of England, London as the Capital City of England, and St. George as the Patron Saint of England. This symbolism is also repeated in the Central Lobby of the Houses of Parliament, directly opposite the House of Commons, in an enormous mosaic created by Sir Edward John Poynter in 1869, depicting St George and the Dragon with these arms &c, entitled St George for England. [11The bottom 61 metres (200 ft) of the Clock Tower's structure consists of brickwork with sand coloured Anston limestone cladding. The remainder of the tower's height is a framed spire of cast iron. The tower is founded on a 15-metre (49 ft) square raft, made of 3-metre (9.8 ft) thick concrete, at a depth of 4 metres (13 ft) below ground level. The four clock dials are 55 metres (180 ft) above ground. The interior volume of the tower is 4,650 cubic metres (164,200 cubic feet). Despite being one of the world's most famous tourist attractions, the interior of the tower is not open to overseas visitors, though United Kingdom residents are able to arrange tours (well in advance) through their Member of Parliament.[12] However, the tower has no elevator, so those escorted must climb the 334 limestone stairs to the top.[10] Because of changes in ground conditions since construction (notably tunnelling for the Jubilee Line extension), the tower leans slightly to the north-west, by roughly 220 millimetres (8.66 in) at the clock dials, giving an inclination of approximately 1/250.[13][14] Due to thermal effects it oscillates annually by a few millimetres east and west.

Big Ben, London

Big Ben is probably the UK's most famous clock and one of London's best known landmarks, sitting on the bank of the River Thames and forming an important part of the city's skyscape. It's popular with both tourists and locals alike.

What Is Big Ben?

There is some confusion as to the name Big Ben. Some people use it to refer to the entire clock tower of the Houses of Parliament at the Palace of Westminster. Other people use the name to refer to just the clock. In fact strictly speaking the name Big Ben applies just to one bell, the largest bell in the clock: Big Ben is the Great Bell of Westminster which is the largest bell in the clock tower which houses the Great Clock of Westminster. However you define it, Big Ben is massive. The tower is 316 foot high. Each of the four faces of the clock is 23 foot square and the figures are each 4 foot tall. The Great Bell itself is 7 and a half foot tall and weighs 13 tons.

Why is it Called 'Big Ben'?

The origin of the name Big Ben is uncertain. Some people have said it came about during the parliamentary debate to consider naming the clock - after Sir Benjamin Hall, who was known as "Big Ben". Another possibility is that the name referred to Benjamin Caunt, a heavyweight boxing champion of the time whose nickname was "Big Ben".

The History of Big Ben

The clock tower was designed as part of the new Palace of Westminster which was built after the old one was burnt down in 1834. The tower was completed in 1858. The clock was actually finished before the tower. Designed by Edmund Beckett Denison and built by Edward John Dent it was completed in 1854. The clock features an innovative double three-legged gravity escapement. The original Big Ben bell was to have been even larger - weighing 16 tons. This was built in 1856 but cracked in use. The contract for the bell was then given to the Whitechapel Bell Foundry who recast Big Ben into it's current 13 ton form. Big Ben rang for the first time on May 31st 1859. Initially the bell was tuned to 'E', however a crack appeared in the new bell as well and fixing this mean that it no longer played at perfect pitch.