The Breaking Big Ben Bellīig Ben is a colossal bell weighing 15.1 tons. In 2012 it was renamed the Elizabeth Tower to commemorate the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee, though colloquially it will always be Big Ben. The tower was initially named the Clock Tower, an accurate (if somewhat uninspired) name for this massive timepiece. The nickname has been extended to the entire clock tower, despite having had two other official names. The Great Bell received i’s sobriquet in honor of Sir Benjamin Hall, the First Commissioner for Works, who raised Big Ben to its current place atop the tower. The moniker Big Ben has been in use for over 150 years, and the nickname was originally applied only to the enormous bell inside the tower. He was only held in the tower overnight but was denied his seat in Parliament for five years. The room was last used in 1880 when MP Charles Bradlaugh–a staunch atheist who’d won his seat in the House of Commons as a radical–refused to swear his allegiance to Queen Victoria on the bible. When MPs weren’t acting in accordance with parliament’s codes of conduct, they’d be thrown into the room atop the tower to reflect upon their misdeeds. One-third of the way up the tower–at step 114–is a shadowy, dismal room, used as a prison cell for several years after the tower’s completion. The tower rises to a staggering 315 feet high, and 334 steps wind dizzyingly to the top. The construction was completed in 1859, and its four-faced clock was the largest of its kind in the world. Built during the reign of Queen Victoria–after a tragic fire on October 16, 1834, destroyed most of the old Palace–the designs feature beautiful neo-Gothic elements that give the Palace its ancient look. When was Big Ben Built?Īlthough the new Palace of Westminster–with its world-renowned London clock tower–looks like a remnant of the medieval city, it’s merely 160 years old. Planning a trip to London? Check out Context learning, online experiences perfect for any avid learner keen to see the wonders of the world, or Context London private tours for when you’re in the Big Smoke itself. Big Ben–one of the most reliable clocks in the world–has no shortage of admirers, and the London clock tower has been used to set the scene in countless films and books over the last century. Originally the site of the royal palace of London, Westminster is now the seat of governance and the bastion of British democracy.

Think of Britain’s capital and the first image that springs to mind is Big Ben, the iconic London clock tower of the Houses of Parliament in Westminster.

Big clock tower