Big Ben is the nickname of the main bell of the clock tower at the Palace of Westminster.
Famous bell
There is a tradition of christening church bells and naming them after a saint, but this bell was probably nicknamed after Sir Benjamin Hall, who supervised the work of installing the bell. Weighing nearly 14 tonnes and three metres high, it is the second largest bell in Britain after the Great Ben, the bell of St Paul's Cathedral in London.
Over time, Big Ben has come to be known not only as the bell, but also as the clock and the entire clock tower. The tower, the last work of architect Augustus Pugin, was built in 1858 in the Neo-Gothic style. It is part of the Palace of Westminster rebuilt after the 1834 fire. The tower is 96.3 metres high. Unfortunately, foreign tourists are not allowed inside the tower, but citizens of the United Kingdom can visit it with an organised tour with their Member of Parliament. There is no lift in the tower, with 334 stone steps leading up to the top.
Symbol of London
The Tower Clock is the world's largest chimes with 4 dials. Their dial is about 7 metres in diameter, the hour hand is 2.7 metres long and the minute hand is 4.3 metres long. The clock is famous for the accuracy of its movement. Near the top of the pendulum are kept antique one penny coins, which serve to adjust the mechanism. Just put a coin on the pendulum and the clock's rate will change by 0.4 seconds per day. On New Year's Eve 1962, a heavy snowfall iced up the hands, causing them to move slower, and the pendulum, as intended, disconnected from the main mechanism to prevent breakage and swung idly. Big Ben heralded the year 1962 with a ten-minute delay.
Big Ben has become London's calling card and its symbol. If in a film it is necessary to show that the action takes place in Great Britain, the silhouette of Big Ben appears in the background. It is used in the background of news programmes, and the chimes of the chimes serve as a call sign for the BBC.
This is interesting!
- Big Ben officially bears the name of St Stephen.
- The bell of Big Ben has a crack, which causes a specific resonating sound produced by it.
- Due to changes in the state of the ground, the tower gradually deviates away from the vertical.
- The tower has inscriptions in Latin - "Domine Salvam fac Reginam nostram Victoriam primam" ("God save our Queen Victoria I") and "Laus Deo" ("Praise God").
- Big Ben served as a prison: for example, the suffragette Emmeline Pankhurst was imprisoned here for some time.
On a side note
- Location: Parlament Square, London.
- Nearest tube station: Westminster
- Official website: www.parliament.uk/about/living-heritage/building/palace/big-ben/enquiries.
