| When one hear the words "Big Ben" immediately an | | | | Commons is sitting. Big Ben weighs over 13 tons.The |
| image of the striking Victorian Gothic structure of the | | | | clock tower of the Palace of Westminster took 13 |
| clock tower of the Palace of Westminster comes into | | | | years to build, and was completed in 1856. The tower |
| mind. However technically speaking, the name "Big | | | | is 316 feet high. The spire that rises above the belfry is |
| Ben" does not refer to the famous tower, nor to the | | | | built with an iron frame, and it is this frame which |
| four huge clock faces of this London landmark but, it | | | | supports the weight of the bells. A staircase rises up |
| refers to the largest of the five bells inside the clock | | | | inside the tower, and a climb is rewarded by excellent |
| tower, whose chimes are such a familiar sound to | | | | views from the belfry level. Several small rooms are |
| listeners to BBC radio over the years. | | | | built into the lower part of the tower, including a small |
| Big Ben is one of London's best-known tourist | | | | prison cell. |
| landmarks, and looks truly spectacular at night when | | | | The cast iron frame of the clock face was designed |
| the clock faces are illuminated. One can even know | | | | by AW Pugin, who was responsible for much of the |
| when parliament is in session, because a light shines | | | | Gothic decorative elements of the Palace of |
| above the clock face. The bell was named after the | | | | Westminster. The dials are 23 feet in diameter and the |
| first commissioner of works, Sir Benjamin Hall. | | | | faces themselves are not solid, but are composed of |
| The four dials of the clock are 23 feet square, the | | | | many small pieces of opal glass, assembled like a |
| minute hand is 14 feet long and the figures are 2 feet | | | | stained glass window. Several of the central pieces of |
| high. Minutely regulated with a stack of coins placed on | | | | glass can be removed to allow inspection of the hands |
| the huge pendulum, Big Ben is an excellent timekeeper, | | | | from inside the clock tower. The numbers on the clock |
| which has rarely stopped. | | | | faces are each two feet high. An inscription in Latin |
| This bell came originally from the old Palace of | | | | below each clock face translates as "God save our |
| Westminster; it was given to the Dean of St. Paul's by | | | | Queen Victoria I". |
| William III. Before returning to Westminster to hang in its | | | | At the time of its construction the clock mechanism |
| present home, it was refashioned in White chapel in | | | | was easily the largest in the world, and it is still among |
| 1858. The BBC first broadcast the chimes on the 31st | | | | the largest today. The clock mechanism, designed by |
| December 1923 - there is a microphone in the turret | | | | Edmund Beckett Denison, has proven to be |
| connected to Broadcasting House. | | | | remarkably accurate over the years, allowing small |
| Big Ben was first broadcast on New Year's Eve in | | | | adjustments to the clock's rate to be made by placing |
| 1923. The light above the clock is lit while the | | | | pennies on a small shoulder of the clock's pendulum. |