The Big Ben
One of the vibrancy of London is its variety of things to see and do in London. One such tourist destinations is The Big Ben. Sir Charles Barry sought advice from Benjamin Lewis Vuillamy - clockmaker to the Queen - and Augustus Pugin when it came to designing the clock tower that is affectionately known as Big Ben today. The mock Gothic Clock Tower building attached to the Houses of Parliament has become a familiar and much loved landmark, its great bell chiming on the hour (and every quarter of an hour too) keeping time with Greenwich meantime. The name Big Ben was initially given to the Great Bell which was created at the Whitechapel Bell Foundry and first struck in 1859. The most likely explanation of the name it that it comes from Sir Benjamin Hall, First Commissioner for Works from 1855-1858 whose name is inscribed on the bell. Now the moniker is the accepted name for the whole of the Clock Tower. Weighing in at 13.7 tonnes, at the time of its casting Big Ben was the largest bell in the British Isles and the clock face the second largest in the country (after the Liver Building in Liverpool).
The Houses of Parliament and the clock tower, commonly called Big Ben, are among London's most iconic landmarks. Visit London and its famous attractions in an open top bus tours and enjoy the hop on and hop off during your tour.
The building is also known as the Palace of Westminster, and the clock tower is actually St Stephen's Tower.
Technically, Big Ben is the massive bell inside the clock tower, which weighs more than 13 tons (13,760 kg).
Big Ben: London's Clock Tower
The clock tower looks spectacular at night when the four clock faces are illuminated.
Each dial is 23 feet square (49.15 square metres)
Big Ben's minute hands are 14 feet long (4.26 metres)
The figures on the face of Big Ben are two feet high (0.6 metres)
A special light above the clock faces is also illuminated, letting the public know when parliament is in session.
Big Ben's timekeeping is strictly regulated by a stack of coins placed on the huge pendulum. Big Ben has rarely stopped. Even after a bomb destroyed the Commons chamber during the Second World War, the clock tower survived and Big Ben continued to strike the hours.
The chimes of Big Ben were first broadcast by the BBC on 31 December 1923, a tradition that continues to this day. London open top bus tours enable you to jump on and off the buses and visit London attractions at your leisure
The History of Big Ben
The Palace of Westminster was destroyed by fire in 1834. In 1844, it was decided the new buildings for the Houses of Parliament should include a tower and a clock. The bell was refashioned in Whitechapel in 1858 and the clock first rang across Westminster on 31 May 1859.
Just two months later, Big Ben cracked. A lighter hammer was fitted and the bell rotated to present an undamaged section to the hammer. This is the bell as we hear it today.
London's Favourite Landmark: Why Ben?
The origin of the name Big Ben is not known, although two different theories exist.
The first is that is was named after Sir Benjamin Hall, the first commissioner of works, a large man who was known affectionately in the house as "Big Ben".
The second theory is that it was named after a heavyweight boxing champion at that time, Benjamin Caunt. Also known as "Big Ben", this nickname was commonly bestowed in society to anything that was the heaviest in its class.
So what are you waiting for? The London guided tour gives you a chance to visit all these attractions.