Big Ben
London
Big Ben is the great bell in the clock tower of the Houses of Parliament, in Westminster. The tower, 96 metres tall, has been called Elizabeth Tower since 2012.
A new palace after the fire
In 1834 a fire destroyed almost all of the old Palace of Westminster, where Parliament meets. Charles Barry won the competition for the new palace. He brought in Augustus Pugin, who designed the clock tower and the Gothic decorations.
The clock tower was begun in 1843. The clock started on 31 May 1859.
What to look at from the square
The tower has four dials, one on each side, each 7 metres wide. The hour numerals are 60 centimetres long. At the very top, above the belfry, a small light shines when Parliament is at work.
The bells of the tower
There are five bells in the tower. Four small ones ring every quarter of an hour. The largest, Big Ben, weighs 13.7 tonnes and strikes the hours.
Big Ben was cast in London in 1858, at the Whitechapel foundry. The sound comes from hammers striking from outside: the bells do not swing.
Since 1923 the radio has carried its strokes across the whole country. On New Year's Eve we Londoners wait for midnight listening to this very bell.
