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Big Ben

Big Ben: the Basics

Is there a landmark that more immediately shouts "England" than the tower of the Palace of Westminster? It’s the quickest way for film-makers to establish that the action has switched to London. Its huge clock faces and solid construction look built to last, as well they might: they arose from the ashes of the 19th-century fire that laid waste to the old Westminster.

Big Ben silhouette
When we talk about Big Ben, it tends to be the tower that most of us have in mind. But it is actually the name of the 13-ton bell inside that strikes the hours. (The tower is actually called St Stephen’s Tower.) Recast at the Whitechapel Foundry in London’s East End in 1858, the bell was made from the melted-down remains of a predecessor that had cracked during testing.

Big Ben is the focus of December 31 celebrations, when the nation holds its breath to hear the first Bong! usher in the brand new year. The BBC first broadcast the New Year’s Eve chimes to see in 1924, and has been doing so ever since. So accurate is its timekeeping generally that we can forgive it the odd hiccup, such as in 1962 when a heavy fall of snow on the hands made the midnight chimes ten minutes late.