Big Ben Historical Facts and Pictures

The Great Bell at the clock tower is actually nicknamed as the Big Ben. Located on the North of the Palace of Westminster it is one of the major symbols of London. The tower reached its 150th anniversary on May 31, 2009, since its creation in 1858.

Big Ben

The name, Big Ben was first applied only to the Great Bell, but it is now extended to collectively refer to the bell, the clock and also the tower. This 3rd tallest free-standing clock-tower, officially known as the Elizabeth Tower, consists the world’s largest 4-faced chiming clock.

Big Ben Images

Big Ben Pictures

Design and construction

After the destruction of the Old Westminster Palace by fire in 1834, Charles Barry pioneered the reconstruction of the palace and the Big Ben was included in his new design. In spite of being the chief architect, Barry turned for the design of the clock tower to Augustus Pugin, who created this 315 ft. high 16-storied clock tower in his archetypal Gothic Revival Style. It was Pugin’s last work before his ultimate descent into madness and death.

Big Ben Photos

Night View of Big Ben

Structure and Architecture

The bottom two hundred feet of the tower consists of brickwork with Anston limestone cladding. The rest of the tower is a framed spire of cast iron. The tower is situated on a fifty feet square raft, built of ten feet thick concrete beneath the ground level of fifteen feet. The tower comprises 354 limestone stairs that lead to the top.

Big Ben at Night

Big Ben Night

The Clock and the Bell

Designed by Augustus Pugin, the four iron-framed clock dials support 312 opal glass pieces like a window of stained glass. Each of the clock dial’s bases display the Latin inscription: “DOMINE SALVAM FAC REGINAM NOSTRAM VICTORIAM PRIMAM”, meaning “O Lord keep safe our Queen Victoria the First”. Weighing 660 pounds, the pendulum of the clock is 13 feet long and beats in every 2 seconds. A small stack of penny coins is placed on top of the pendulum for the adjustment of timing of the clock. Addition or removal of a single coin will affect the clock’s speed per day by 0.4 seconds.

Big Ben Bell

Big Ben Clock

The Great Bell on the clock tower, better known as the Big Ben, is originally named after Sir Benjamin Hall and it has his name inscribed on it. Casted in 1856, the Big Ben was the largest bell in Britain until the emergence of “Great Paul” in 1881, which currently hangs in St. Paul’s Cathedral.