- The largest of the tower’s five bells is the Big Ben, which weighs 13.5 long tons (13.7 tonnes; 15.1 short tons) and is named after Sir Benjamin Hall.
- That’s right – this famous London landmark isn’t officially named Big Ben. For hundreds of years, it used to be called, simply, the Clock Tower.
- The history of the Big Ben Clock Tower at Westminster dates back to the 13th Century but the tower as we now know it has its roots in 19th Century Britain.
- The origin of the name ‘Big Ben’ is not clear, but it may have been named after Sir Benjamin Hall, who oversaw the installation of the Great Bell.
- Big Ben – the name given to the great bell rather than the actual clock – was installed in the Palace of Westminster clock tower in 1859.
- The original office name for Big Ben was the Clock Tower, but in 2012 it was renamed to Elizabeth Tower to mark the Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II.
- The Clock Tower of the Palace of Westminster – officially named Saint Stephen’s Tower – is commonly known as the Big Ben.
- We were among the thousands of people that stood near Big Ben in August of 2017 to hear the last chimes before Big Ben was shut down for almost five years!
- We then went up to the clock tower. You stand within a couple of meters of Big Ben. They give you ear protectors. We saw it chime at 17.00.
- The shape of Big Ben clock tower has become famous all over the world because of its uniqueness and it has now become a symbol of London.