BIG BEN

Intro

Big Ben is the nickname for the great bell of the clock at the north end of the Palace of Westminster in London and is often extended to refer to the clock or the clock tower as well. It is the largest four-faced chiming clock and the third-tallest free-standing clock tower in the world. The clock first ticked on 31 May 1859.

The Tower :

A clock tower was built at Westminster in 1288, with the fine-money of Ralph Hengham, Chief Justice of the King's Bench.

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. The tower is designed in Pugin's celebrated Gothic Revival style, and is 96.3 metres (315.9 ft) high (roughly 16 stories).
Monochrome image of Westminster clock tower

The bottom 61 metres (200 ft) of the Clock Tower's structure consists of brickwork with sand coloured Anston limestone cladding. The tower is founded on a 15-metre square raft, made of 3-metre thick concrete, at a depth of 4 metres below ground level. The four clock faces are 55 metres above ground. The interior volume of the tower is 4,650 cubic metres.

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. However, the tower has no elevator, so those escorted must climb the 334 limestone stairs to the top.

THE CLOCK :

Faces:

The clock faces are large enough that the Clock Tower was once the largest four-faced clock in the world
The face of the Great Clock of Westminster. The hour hand is 2.7 metres (9 ft) long and the minute hand is 4.3 metres (14 ft) long.

The clock and dials were designed by Augustus Pugin. The clock faces are set in an iron frame 7 metres (23 ft) in diameter, supporting 312