Big Ben

File:Gary O'Donoghue on the Elizabeth Tower.ogg]]

Elizabeth Tower, originally named the Clock Tower, and popularly known as "Big Ben",{{cite web| title=Big Ben 'bongs' to be silenced for £29m refurbishment| url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-36138203| work=BBC News| access-date=26 April 2016| date=26 April 2016}} was built as a part of Charles Barry's design for a new Palace of Westminster after the old palace was largely destroyed by fire on 16 October 1834.{{cite web|url=http://www.parliament.uk/about/living-heritage/building/palace/big-ben/key-dates-/1289-90/| title=1289-1834: Big Ben and Elizabeth Tower| website=UK Parliament| access-date=9 July 2014}} Although Barry was the chief architect of the neo-gothic palace, he turned to Augustus Pugin for the design of the Clock Tower, which resembles earlier Pugin designs, including one for Scarisbrick Hall in Lancashire.McKay, p. 45. Construction of the tower began on 28 September 1843. The building contractors were Thomas Grissell and Morton Peto. An inscribed trowel in the Parliamentary Archives records that Emily, sister of Peto's daughter-in-law, was given the honour of laying the first stone.McKay, p. 46. It was Pugin's last design before his descent into mental illness and death in 1852, and Pugin himself wrote, at the time of Barry's last visit to him to collect the drawings: "I never worked so hard in my life for Mr Barry for tomorrow I render all my designs for finishing his bell tower and it is beautiful".Hill, p. 482.

Completed in 1859, the tower is designed in Pugin's Gothic Revival style and is {{convert|316|ft|m|1}} high, making it the third tallest clock tower in the UK. Its dials (at the centre) are {{convert|180|ft|m|1}} above ground level. The tower's base is square, measuring {{convert|40|ft|m|1}} on each side,McKay, p. 266. resting on concrete foundations {{convert|12|ft|m|1}} thick.McKay, p. 201. It was constructed using bricks clad on the exterior with sand-coloured Anston limestone from South Yorkshire, topped by a spire covered in hundreds of cast iron rooftiles.McKay, pp. 47–48. There is a spiral staircase with 290 stone steps up to the clock room, followed by 44 to reach the belfry, and an additional 59 to the top of the spire.

Above the belfry and the Ayrton Light are 52 shields decorated with national emblems of the four countries of the UK: the red and white rose of England's Tudor dynasty, the thistle of Scotland, shamrock of Northern Ireland, and leek of Wales. They also feature the pomegranate of Catherine of Aragon, first wife of the Tudor king Henry VIII; the portcullis, symbolising both Houses of Parliament;{{cite web|url=https://www.parliament.uk/site-information/glossary/portcullis/|title=Portcullis|website=UK Parliament|access-date=21 January 2021}} and fleurs-de-lis, a legacy from when English monarchs claimed to rule France.{{cite web|url=https://www.parliament.uk/about/living-heritage/building/palace/big-ben/decorative-shields-conservation/|title=Elizabeth Tower decorative shields: before and during the conservation|access-date=21 January 2021|website=UK Parliament}}

A ventilation shaft running from ground level up to the belfry, which measures {{convert|16|ft|m|1}} by {{convert|8|ft|m|1}}, was designed by David Boswell Reid, known as "the grandfather of air-conditioning". It was intended to draw cool, fresh air into the Palace of Westminster; in practice this did not work and the shaft was repurposed as a chimney, until around 1914.McKay, p. 44. The 2017–2021 conservation works included the addition of a lift (or elevator) that was installed in the shaft.{{cite web|url=https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-questions/detail/2020-12-09/127545|title=Big Ben: Lifts|date=9 December 2020|website=UK Parliament}}

Its foundations rest on a layer of gravel, below which is London Clay. Owing to this soft ground, the tower leans slightly to the north-west by roughly {{convert|230|mm|in|abbr=on}} over 55 m height, giving an inclination of approximately {{frac|240}}. This includes a planned maximum of 22 mm increased tilt due to tunnelling for the Jubilee Line Extension.{{cite web|title=Tunnel Vision |work=Post Report Summary |publisher=Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology |date=January 1997 |url=http://www.parliament.uk/post/pn090.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061121015223/http://www.parliament.uk/post/pn090.pdf |archive-date=21 November 2006}} In the 1990s, thousands of tons of concrete were pumped into the ground underneath the tower to stabilise it during construction of the Westminster section of the Jubilee line.McKay, p. 25. It leans by about {{convert|500|mm|in|abbr=on}} at the finial. Experts believe the tower's lean will not be a problem for another 4,000 to 10,000 years.{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-15243118| title=Clock ticking for leaning Big Ben| date=11 October 2011| work=BBC News}}

File:Houses of Parliament in 2022 (cropped).jpg. The Elizabeth Tower is visible on the right.]]

File:Ayrton_Light.jpg

A new feature was added in 1873 by Acton Smee Ayrton, then First Commissioner of Works and Public Buildings. The Ayrton Light is a lantern sited above the belfry and is lit whenever the House of Commons sits after dark. It can be seen from across London. Originally, it shone towards Buckingham Palace so Queen Victoria could look out of a window and see when the Commons were at work.McKay, p.28.

Inside the tower is an oak-panelled Prison Room, which can only be accessed from the House of Commons, not via the tower entrance. It was last used in 1880 when atheist Charles Bradlaugh, newly elected Member of Parliament for Northampton, was imprisoned by the Serjeant at Arms after he protested against swearing a religious oath of allegiance to Queen Victoria.McKay, p. 7. Officially, the Serjeant at Arms can still make arrests, as they have had the authority to do since 1415. The room, however, is currently occupied by the Petitions Committee, which oversees petitions submitted to Parliament.{{cite web|url=https://archives.blog.parliament.uk/2020/05/27/the-prison-room-of-elizabeth-tower/|title=The Prison Room of Elizabeth Tower|website=Parliamentary Archives|date=28 May 2020}}

Journalists during Queen Victoria's reign called it St Stephen's Tower. As members of Parliament originally sat at St Stephen's Hall, these journalists referred to anything related to the House of Commons as "news from St Stephens", a term that survives in Welsh-language political reporting as "San Steffan". The Palace does contain a feature called St Stephen's Tower, located above the public entrance.{{cite web| url=http://www.parliament.uk/about/living-heritage/building/palace/big-ben/enquiries/| title=Frequently asked questions: Big Ben and Elizabeth Tower| website=UK Parliament}} On 2 June 2012, the House of Commons voted in support of a proposal to change the name from the Clock Tower to Elizabeth Tower in commemoration of Elizabeth II in her Diamond Jubilee year, since the large west tower known as Victoria Tower had been renamed in tribute to Queen Victoria on the occasion of her Diamond Jubilee.{{cite news| first=Andrew| last=Hough |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/the_queens_diamond_jubilee/9307060/The-Queens-Diamond-Jubilee-Big-Ben-to-be-renamed-Elizabeth-Tower.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220111/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/the_queens_diamond_jubilee/9307060/The-Queens-Diamond-Jubilee-Big-Ben-to-be-renamed-Elizabeth-Tower.html |archive-date=11 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live| title=The Queen's Diamond Jubilee: 'Big Ben to be renamed Elizabeth Tower'| work=The Daily Telegraph| date=2 June 2012| access-date=9 July 2014}}{{cbignore}} On 26 June 2012, the House of Commons confirmed that the name change could go ahead.{{cite news |first=Kayte |last=Rath |date=26 June 2012|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-18592966 |title=Big Ben's tower renamed Elizabeth Tower in honour of Queen |work=BBC News}} David Cameron, then prime minister, officially announced the change of name on 12 September 2012.{{cite web| title=Questions to the Prime Minister|url=https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201213/cmhansrd/cm120912/debtext/120912-0001.htm#12091223000008| work=House of Commons Hansard Debates for 12 Sept 2012| publisher=Hansard| access-date=13 September 2012}} The change was marked by a naming ceremony in which John Bercow, then Speaker of the House of Commons, unveiled a plaque attached to the tower on the adjoining Speaker's Green.{{cite web |url=http://www.parliament.uk/business/news/2012/september/elizabeth-tower-naming-ceremony |website=U K Parliament |title=Elizabeth Tower naming ceremony |date=12 September 2012 |access-date=30 April 2016}}

File:Big Ben Elizabeth Tower London 2023 01 Detail.jpg

Augustus Pugin drew inspiration from the clockmaker Benjamin Lewis Vulliamy when he designed the dials. Each is made of cast iron sections bolted together. The whole frame is {{convert|22.5|ft|m|1}} in diameter making them the third largest in the UK. They each contain 324 pieces of opalescent glass.{{cite web| url=https://www.parliament.uk/about/living-heritage/building/palace/big-ben/facts-figures/great-clock-facts/| title=Great Clock facts| website=UK Parliament| access-date=30 January 2021}} Originally, the dials were backlit using gas lamps, at first only when Parliament was sitting, but they have routinely been illuminated from dusk until dawn since 1876. Electric bulbs were installed at the beginning of the 20th century.McKay, pp. 121–129. The ornate surrounds of the dials are gilded. At the base of each dial is the Latin inscription {{lang|la|DOMINE SALVAM FAC REGINAM NOSTRAM VICTORIAM PRIMAM}}, which means "O Lord, keep safe our Queen Victoria the First".McKay, p. 11. Unlike Roman numeral clock dials that show the "4" position as IIII, the Great Clock faces depict "4" as IV.Good, P. 81. The clock's gun metal hour hands and copper minute hands are {{convert|8.75|ft|m|1}} and {{convert|14|ft|m|1}} long respectively.McKay, pp. 266-267.

When completed, the dials and clock hands were Prussian blue, but were painted black in the 1930s to disguise the effects of air pollution. The original colour scheme was reinstated during the 2017–2021 conservation work. Analysis of the paint layers found that no fewer than six different colour schemes had been used over the past 160 years.{{cite web| url=https://www.parliament.uk/about/living-heritage/building/palace/big-ben/elizabeth-tower-and-big-ben-conservation-works-2017-/turning-big-bens-clock-dials-blue/| title=Turning Big Ben's clock dials blue| website=UK Parliament| access-date=31 December 2020}} The Victorian glass was also removed and replaced with faithful reproductions made in Germany by glassmakers Glasfabrik Lamberts.{{cite web |url=https://www.dachser.co.uk/en/mediaroom/New-glass-for-Big-Ben-4281 |website=Dachser |title=New glass for Big Ben |date=20 February 2020}}

File:Rear of Big Ben clock face.jpg

The clock's movement is known for its reliability. The designers were the lawyer and amateur horologist Edmund Beckett Denison and George Airy, the Astronomer Royal. Construction was entrusted to clockmaker Edward John Dent; after his death in 1853, his stepson Frederick Dent completed the work in 1854.{{cite web|url=http://www.parliament.uk/about/livingheritage/building/big_ben/building_clock_tower/building_great_clock.cfm| title=Denison, Dent and delays| date=13 November 2009| work=Building the Great Clock| publisher=UK Parliament| access-date=23 November 2009| location=London| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091204153528/http://www.parliament.uk/about/livingheritage/building/big_ben/building_clock_tower/building_great_clock.cfm| archive-date=4 December 2009| url-status=dead| df=dmy-all}} As the tower was not completed until 1859, Denison had time to experiment before its installation in April that year: instead of using a deadbeat escapement and remontoire as originally designed, he invented a double three-legged gravity escapement, which provides the best separation between pendulum and clock mechanism, thus mitigating the effects of rain, wind and snow on the dials.McKay, p. 13. Denison never patented his design, and it quickly became the standard on all new high-quality tower clocks.McKay, p. 4.

File:Winding the mechanism that powers Big Ben.webm

On top of the pendulum is a small stack of pre-decimal penny coins; these are to adjust the time of the clock. Adding a coin has the effect of minutely lifting the position of the pendulum's centre of mass, reducing the effective length of the pendulum rod and hence increasing the rate at which the pendulum swings. Adding or removing a penny will change the clock's speed by 0.4 seconds per day.{{cite web |url=http://www.parliament.uk/about/livingheritage/building/big_ben/facts_figures/great_clock_facts.cfm |title=Great Clock facts |date=13 November 2009 |work=Big Ben |publisher=UK Parliament |access-date=23 November 2009 |location=London |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091007101459/http://www.parliament.uk/about/livingheritage/building/big_ben/facts_figures/great_clock_facts.cfm |archive-date=7 October 2009 |url-status=dead |df=dmy}} Other coins have been placed on the pendulum as well; in 2009, three of the pennies were replaced with a £5 commemorative coin minted to celebrate the then-upcoming 2012 Summer Olympics.{{Cite web |title=150-year old pennies removed from London's Big Ben |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/lifestyle/150-year-old-pennies-removed-from-londons-big-ben-idUSTRE5AB5MT/ |website=Reuters}}

Big Ben keeps time to within a few seconds per week.McKay, p. 130. It is hand wound (taking about 1.5 hours) three times a week. The Keeper of the Clock is responsible for looking after the movement in addition to overseeing every aspect of maintenance around the Palace. A team of horologists are on call 24 hours a day to attend to the clock in the event of an emergency.McKay p. 5.

On 10 May 1941, a German bombing raid damaged two of the clock's dials and sections of the tower's stepped roof and destroyed the House of Commons chamber. Architect Sir Giles Gilbert Scott designed a new five-floor block. Two floors are occupied by the current chamber, which was used for the first time on 26 October 1950. The clock ran accurately and chimed throughout the Blitz.{{cite news |title=Let's hear it again from Big Ben |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/5401441/Lets-hear-it-again-from-Big-Ben.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220111/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/5401441/Lets-hear-it-again-from-Big-Ben.html |archive-date=11 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |work=The Daily Telegraph |location=London |date=29 May 2009 |last=Jardine |first=Cassandra}}{{cbignore}}

• Before 1878: The clock stopped for the first time in its history, "through a heavy fall of snow" on the hands of a clock face.{{cite news |url=https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/244522110 |title=Big Ben |newspaper=The Herald (Melbourne) |location=Melbourne |date=5 January 1878 |access-date=2 April 2019 |page=3 }}{{cite news |url=https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/240928160 |title=Big Ben |newspaper=The Kyneton Observer |date=10 January 1878 |access-date=2 April 2019 |page=2 }}
• 21 August 1877 – January 1878: The clock was stopped for three weeks to allow the tower and mechanism to be cleaned and repaired. The old escape wheel was replaced.

• February 1900: The heavy build-up of snow on a clock face impeded the progress of the hour hand, causing the clock to stop for about eight hours.
• 1916: For two years during World War I, the bells were silenced and the clock faces were not illuminated at night to avoid guiding attacking German Zeppelins.{{cite news |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna31002198 |title=Bong! Big Ben rings in its 150th anniversary |agency=Associated Press |work=NBC News |date=29 May 2009 |access-date=1 June 2009}} The bells were restored at 11:00{{nbs}}a.m. on 11 November 1918 to mark the end of the war.
• 29 December 1927: Snow build-up on a clock face stopped the clock.{{cite news |url=https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/237529997 |title=Snow Stops Big Ben |newspaper=The Labor Daily |location=Sydney |date=30 December 1927 |access-date=2 April 2019 |page=1}}
• Winter 1928: Heavy snow stopped the clock for several hours.
• 2 April 1934: The clock stopped from 7:16 a.m. to 1:15 p.m., when it was repaired.{{cite news |url=https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/128850189|title=Big Ben Stops on Holiday |newspaper=The News |location=Adelaide |date=3 April 1934 |access-date=2 April 2019 |page=10}}
• 23 September 1936: A painter painting the inside of the clock room placed a ladder against a shaft driving the hands, stopping the clock from 8:47 a.m. to 10:00{{nbs}}a.m.
• 1 September 1939: Although the bells continued to ring, the clock faces were not illuminated at night throughout {{Nowrap|World War II}} to avoid guiding bomber pilots during the Blitz.
• 10/11 May 1941: the clock was damaged during a German bombing raid, either by a small bomb or by a British anti-aircraft shell. Stonework and ornamental ironwork were damaged, and the glass on the south dial was shattered. The damage was repaired at the time, but in major refurbishment from 2017 it was found that the tower had sustained greater damage than originally thought, and asbestos, lead paint and broken glass were discovered, increasing the refurbishment cost from an estimated £29 million to nearly £80 million.{{cite news| last=Grierson | first=Jamie | title=Time stands still at Westminster as Big Ben fails to chime |newspaper=The Guardian | date=10 May 2023 | url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2023/may/10/time-stands-still-at-westminster-as-big-ben-fails-to-chime}}
• 3–4 June 1941: The clock stopped from 10:13 p.m. until 10:13 the following morning, after a workman repairing air-raid damage to the clock face left a hammer too close to the mechanism.{{cite news| url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-page5437214?zoomLevel=1| newspaper=The Morning Bulletin| location=Rockhampton| title=Big Ben stopped by hammer| date=6 June 1941| access-date=11 May 2014}}
• 9 December 1944: The clock hands stopped due to mechanical failure. The broken part{{px2}}{{mdash}}{{hsp}}a pendulum suspension spring{{px2}}{{mdash}}{{hsp}}was replaced within a few hours.
• 25–26 January 1945: Extremely cold temperatures froze the rubber bushings on the quarter-bell hammers, preventing the chimes sounding from 9:00{{nbs}}p.m. on the 25th to 9:00{{nbs}}p.m. the following evening; the BBC broadcast the pips in the interval.
• 28 January 1947: The rubber bushings on the quarter bell hammers again froze before the clock sounded midnight, muting the chimes, though the problem was resolved by the morning.
• 12 August 1949: The clock slowed by four and a half minutes after a flock of starlings perched on the minute hand.{{cite news| url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/1501943.stm| work=BBC News| title=Big Ben's big clean| date=21 August 2001}}
• 13 January 1955: The clock stopped at 3:24 a.m. due to drifts of snow forming on the north and east dials. Small electric heaters were placed just inside these two dials, and this measure has helped to reduce instances of freezing in recent years.{{cite book |last=MacDonald |first=Peter |title=Big Ben: The Bell, the Clock and the Tower |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aN0TDQAAQBAJ |date=13 October 2005 |publisher=The History Press |access-date=18 June 2017|isbn=978-0-7524-9549-1}}
• 18 July 1955: The rope operating the striking hammer broke, silencing the clock from 10:00{{nbs}}a.m. to 5:00{{nbs}}p.m.
• New Year's Eve 1962: The clock slowed due to heavy snow and ice on the hands, causing the pendulum to detach from the clockwork, as it is designed to do in such circumstances, to avoid serious damage elsewhere in the mechanism – the pendulum continuing to swing freely. Thus, it chimed-in the 1963 new year nine minutes late.{{cite news| url=https://www.theguardian.com/news/2016/nov/09/bell-tolls-for-big-ben-snow-ice-and-sunflower-effect-stop-the-clock| title=Bell tolls for Big Ben: snow, ice and sunflower effect stop the clock| first=Jeremy| last=Plester| date=9 November 2016| newspaper=The Guardian| location=London}}
• 30 January 1965: The bells were silenced during the funeral of statesman and former prime minister Winston Churchill.{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-22157022| work=BBC News| title=Big Ben to be silent for Baroness Thatcher's funeral| date=15 April 2013| access-date=7 February 2014}}
• 9 January 1968: Snow buildup on the clock faces blocked the hands from moving, stopping the clock from 6:28 a.m. to 10:10 a.m.
• 5 August 1976: The air brake speed regulator of the chiming mechanism broke from torsional fatigue after more than 100 years of use, causing the fully wound 4-ton weight to spin the winding drum out of the movement, causing much damage. The clock was shut down for a total of 26 days over nine months – it was reactivated on 9 May 1977. This was the longest break in operation since its construction. During this time BBC Radio 4 broadcast the pips instead. Although there were minor stoppages from 1977 to 2002, when maintenance of the clock was carried out by the old firm of clockmakers Thwaites & Reed, these were often repaired within the permitted two-hour downtime and not recorded as stoppages. Before 1970, maintenance was carried out by the original firm of Dents; since 2002, by parliamentary staff.
• 11 June 1984: Two members of the environmental group Greenpeace scaled the clocktower and blocked the clock face for 11 hours.{{Cite web |date=1984-06-11 |title=Peace protesters scale Big Ben |url=https://www.upi.com/Archives/1984/06/11/Peace-protesters-scale-Big-Ben/4326455774400/ |access-date=2024-10-30 |website=UPI}}
• March 1986 and January 1987: The problem of the rubber bushings on the quarter bell chimes freezing recurred, muffling the chimes.
• 30 April 1997: The clock stopped 24 hours before the general election, and stopped again three weeks later.

File:Cleaning Big Ben.jpg

• 20 March 2004: Twenty years after their first scaling of the clocktower, Greenpeace activists blocked the clock face for seven hours.{{Cite web |last=Goodchild |first=Sophie |date=2004-03-21 |title=Greenpeace brothers climb Big Ben tower and spark security review |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/this-britain/greenpeace-brothers-climb-big-ben-tower-and-spark-security-review-65359.html |access-date=2024-10-30 |website=The Independent}}
• 27 May 2005: The clock stopped at 10:07 p.m., possibly because of hot weather; temperatures in London had reached an unseasonable {{convert|31.8|C|F}}. It resumed, but stopped again at 10:20 p.m., and remained still for about 90 minutes before resuming.{{cite news| url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/4589527.stm| work=BBC News| title=Big Ben chimes stoppage mystery| date=28 May 2005| access-date=26 April 2010}}
• 29 October 2005: The mechanism was stopped for about 33 hours to allow maintenance work on the clock and its chimes. It was the lengthiest maintenance shutdown in 22 years.{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/in_pictures/4389002.stm| work=BBC News| title=In pictures: Big Ben's big turn off| date=29 October 2005| access-date=26 April 2010}}
• 7:00 a.m on 5 June 2006: The clock tower's "Quarter Bells" were taken out of commission for four weeks as a bearing holding one of the quarter bells was worn and needed to be removed for repairs.{{cite news |title=Bong! A change of tune at Westminster |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/this-britain/bong-a-change-of-tune-at-westminster-481163.html |access-date=8 June 2022 |work=The Independent |date=4 June 2006 |language=en}} During this period, BBC Radio 4 broadcast recordings of British bird song followed by the pips in place of the usual chimes.{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/theeditors/2006/06/bongs_and_birds.html| title=The Editors: Bongs and Birds| last=Rippon| first=Peter| date=12 June 2006| work=BBC News| access-date=10 April 2017}}
• 11 August 2007: Start of six-week stoppage for maintenance. Bearings in the clock's chime train and the "great bell" striker were replaced, for the first time since installation.{{cite news| url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/6941611.stm| work=BBC News| title= Big Ben silenced for repair work| date=11 August 2007| access-date=26 April 2010}} During the maintenance the clock was driven by an electric motor.{{cite web |url=http://www.bigben.parliament.uk/ixbin/indexplus?record=ART134 |title=Big Ben 1859 – 2009 – Keeping the Great Clock ticking |publisher=UK Parliament |access-date=27 May 2009| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090603211836/http://www.bigben.parliament.uk/ixbin/indexplus?record=ART134| archive-date=3 June 2009 | url-status=live}} Once again, BBC Radio 4 broadcast the pips during this time. The intention was that the clock should run accurately for a further 200 years before major maintenance is again required; in fact the repairs sufficed for ten years.{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ed0XwaX_fHIC| last=Brand| first=Stewart| title=The Clock of the Long Now| year=2008| location=New York| isbn=978-0-7867-2292-1| publisher=Basic Books}}
• 17 April 2013: The bells were silenced as a mark of "profound dignity and deep respect" during the funeral of former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.{{cite news| last=Watt| first=Nicholas| title=Margaret Thatcher funeral: Big Ben to be silenced as mark of respect|url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2013/apr/15/margaret-thatcher-big-ben-silenced| access-date=17 May 2013| newspaper=The Guardian| date=15 April 2013| location=London}}
• 25 August 2015: Maintenance crews discovered the clock to be running seven seconds fast. They removed coins from its pendulum to correct the error, which caused it to run slow for a period.{{cite news |last=Phipps |first=Claire |title=Clockwatchers ticked off as Big Ben's chimes run seven seconds fast |url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2015/aug/25/clockwatchers-ticked-off-as-big-bens-chimes-run-six-seconds-fast |date=25 August 2015 |newspaper=The Guardian |access-date=30 August 2015}}
• 21 August 2017: Start of a four-year silencing of the chimes during maintenance and repair work to the clock mechanism, and repairs and improvements to the clock tower building. During this time, dials, hands, and lights were removed for restoration, with at least one dial – with its hands driven by an electric motor – left intact, functioning, and visible at any given time. A lift was also installed during this renovation.{{cite news |title=Big Ben's bongs to fall silent until 2021 for repairs |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-40922169 |date=14 August 2017 |work=BBC News |location=London |language=en-GB |access-date=30 January 2021}}{{Cite web|date=2017-08-14|title=Big Ben to be silenced for four years for maintenance|url=http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2017/aug/14/big-ben-silenced-four-years-maintenance-chimes|access-date=2021-01-08|website=The Guardian|language=en}}
• 10 May 2023: The clock dials all stopped at 12:55{{nbs}}p.m., and Big Ben did not chime at 1:00{{nbs}}p.m. The hands restarted, but the clock was five minutes slow until rectified at 1:47{{nbs}}p.m.
• 8 March 2025: At around 7:24am Daniel Day, 29, scaled the side of the Elizabeth Tower and sat on a ledge holding a Palestinian flag.{{Cite web |title=Negotiators appeal to man to come down from Big Ben clock tower |url=https://news.sky.com/story/amp/man-holding-palestinian-flag-seen-climbing-up-palace-of-westminster-13323966 |access-date=2025-03-08 |website=Sky News |language=en}} Day posted videos and photos of his climb to his Instagram account.{{Cite web |title=Instagram |url=https://www.instagram.com/free_all.of.us/?igsh=MThlbGp1ejdjcDdnMQ%3D%3D |access-date=2025-03-08 |website=www.instagram.com}} At midnight Day stepped onto a cherrypicker next to the Elizabeth Tower ending a 16 hour long protest.{{Cite web |title=Man holding Palestinian flag who climbed up Elizabeth Tower comes down |url=https://news.sky.com/story/man-holding-palestinian-flag-who-climbed-up-elizabeth-tower-comes-down-13324828 |access-date=2025-03-09 |website=Sky News |language=en}}

File:big-ben-1858.jpg, 4 December 1858]]

File:Big Ben 2001-06-27.jpg

The main bell, officially known as the "Great Bell" but better known as Big Ben, is the largest bell in the tower and part of the Great Clock of Westminster. It sounds an E-natural.{{Cite web|title=Facts and figures|url=https://www.parliament.uk/about/living-heritage/building/palace/big-ben/facts-figures/|access-date=2021-11-23|website=www.parliament.uk|language=en}}

The original bell was a 16-ton (16.3-tonne) hour bell, cast on 6 August 1856 in Stockton-on-Tees by John Warner & Sons. It is thought that the bell was originally to be called "Victoria" or "Royal Victoria" in honour of Queen Victoria, but that an MP suggested the bell's current nickname of "Big Ben" during a Parliamentary debate; the comment is not recorded in Hansard.{{cite web |url=http://www.icons.org.uk/theicons/collection/big-ben/features/how-did-big-ben-get-its-name |title=Big Ben – How did Big Ben get its Name? |website=Icons of England| access-date=30 April 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100124034508/http://www.icons.org.uk/theicons/collection/big-ben/features/how-did-big-ben-get-its-name |archive-date=24 January 2010}}

Since the tower was not yet finished, the bell was mounted in New Palace Yard but, during testing, it cracked beyond repair and a replacement had to be made. The bell was recast on 10 April 1858 at the Whitechapel Bell Foundry as a 13.5-ton (13.76-tonne) bell.The actual weight quoted by the founders is 13  tons 10 cwts 3 qtrs 15 lbs. The second bell was transported from the foundry to the tower on a trolley drawn by sixteen horses, with crowds cheering its progress; it was then pulled {{convert|200|ft|m|1|abbr=on}} up to the Clock Tower's belfry, a feat that took 18 hours. It is {{convert|7|ft|6|in|m|2}} tall and {{convert|9|ft|m|2}} diameter. This new bell first chimed on 11 July 1859; in September it too cracked under the hammer. According to the foundry's manager, George Mears, the horologist Denison had used a hammer more than twice the maximum weight specified. For three years Big Ben was taken out of commission and the hours were struck on the lowest of the quarter bells until it was repaired. To make the repair, a square piece of metal was chipped out from the rim around the crack, and the bell given an eighth of a turn so the new hammer struck in a different place. Big Ben has chimed with a slightly different tone ever since, and is still in use today with the crack unrepaired. Big Ben was the largest bell in the British Isles until "Great Paul", a 16.75-ton (17 tonne) bell currently hung in St Paul's Cathedral, was cast in 1881.{{cite web| url=http://www.inloughborough.com/local%20history/Great_Paul.shtml| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930141731/http://www.inloughborough.com/local%20history/Great_Paul.shtml| url-status=dead| archive-date=30 September 2007| title=The History of Great Paul| publisher=Bell foundry museum, Leicester| access-date=19 October 2008| df=dmy-all}}

In August 2007, the bell's striker was replaced for the first time since installation.

File:Benjamin Hall, 1858.jpg

The origin of the nickname "Big Ben" has been the subject of some debate. The nickname was applied first to the Great Bell; and there is debate as to whether it was named after Sir Benjamin Hall, who as Minister for Public Works, oversaw the installation of the Great Bell, or after English heavyweight boxing champion Ben Caunt.{{cite web| url=http://www.parliament.uk/about/living-heritage/building/palace/big-ben/building-clock-tower/great-bell/| title=The Great Bell – Big Ben| publisher=UK Parliament| access-date=9 July 2014}}{{cite web| url=http://www.parliament.uk/about/living-heritage/building/palace/big-ben/building-clock-tower/great-bell/| title=The Great Bell – Big Ben| date=13 November 2009| work=Living Heritage| publisher=UK Parliament| access-date=28 July 2012}} However, it is very clear from statements in the press at the time that the name derives from the nickname of Sir Benjamin Hall who was a tall man.FindMyPast: Evening Mail, 22 Oct 1856, p7, col4, "Big Ben of Westminster" https://www.findmypast.com/image-viewer?issue=BL%2F0001316%2F18561022&page=7&article=039&stringtohighlight=benjamin+hall+big+benFindMyPast: The Illustrated London News, 1 November 1856, p444, col1, "Removal of the Bell for the Great Clock" https://www.findmypast.com/image-viewer?issue=BL%2F0001578%2F18561101&page=6&article=020&stringtohighlight=benjamin+hall+big+benFindMyPast: The Morning Herald, 14 November 1856, p6, col3, "Big Ben of Westminster: https://www.findmypast.com/image-viewer?issue=BL%2F0002408%2F18561114&page=6&article=076&stringtohighlight=benjamin+hall+big+benFindMyPast: The Western Flying Post: 25 November 1856, p4, col3, "Metrop[olitan and Provincial" https://www.findmypast.com/image-viewer?issue=BL%2F0000411%2F18561125&page=4&article=028&stringtohighlight=benjamin+hall+big+benFindMyPast: The Morning Herald, 2 February 1858, p4, col 5 https://www.findmypast.com/image-viewer?issue=BL%2F0002408%2F18580202&page=4&article=067&stringtohighlight=benjamin+hall+big+benFindMyPast: Saint James Chronicle, 8 March 1859, p7, col3, "The Great Westminster Clock" https://www.findmypast.com/image-viewer?issue=BL%2F0002193%2F18590308&page=7&article=056&stringtohighlight=benjamin+hall+big+ben Now "Big Ben" is often used, by extension, to refer to the clock, the tower and the bell collectively, although the nickname is not universally accepted as referring to the clock and tower.{{cite encyclopedia| title=Big Ben|url=https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/64921/Big-Ben| publisher=Encyclopædia Britannica Online| access-date=27 October 2008| first=Jonathan D.| last=Betts| date=26 November 2008| encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081102173629/https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/64921/Big-Ben| archive-date=2 November 2008| url-status=live}} Some authors of works about the tower, clock and bell sidestep the issue by using the words Big Ben first in the title, then going on to clarify that the subject of the book is the clock and tower as well as the bell.{{cite book |last=Macdonald |first=Peter G |title=Big Ben: The Bell, The Clock And The Tower |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_FuPAwAAQBAJ |date=25 January 2005 |location=Stroud, Gloucestershire |publisher=The History Press |isbn=978-0-7524-9549-1}}{{cite book |last=Lockhart |first=Ann |title=Big Ben and the Westminster Clock Tower |date=1997 |location=Andover, Hampshire |publisher=Pitkin Guides |isbn=978-0-85372-839-9}}

{{See also|Westminster Quarters}}

Along with the Great Bell, the belfry houses four quarter bells which play the Westminster Quarters on the quarter hours. The four quarter bells sound G{{music|sharp}}, F{{music|sharp}}, E, and B. They were cast by John Warner & Sons at their Crescent Foundry in 1857 (G{{music|sharp}}, F{{music|sharp}} and B) and 1858 (E). The Foundry was in Jewin Crescent, in what is now known as the Barbican, in the City of London.{{cite news| title=The New Houses of Parliament| date=16 November 1855| work=The Standard |page=2| location=London}} The bells are sounded by hammers pulled by cables coming from the link room—a low-ceiling space between the clock room and the belfry—where they are triggered by cables coming from the chime train.

The quarter bells play a once-repeating, 20-note sequence of rounds and four changes in the key of E major: 1–4 at quarter past, 5–12 at half past, 13–20 and 1–4 at quarter to, and 5–20 on the hour (which sounds 25 seconds before the main bell tolls the hour). Because the low bell (B) is struck twice in quick succession, there is not enough time to pull a hammer back, and it is supplied with two wrench hammers on opposite sides of the bell. The tune is that of the Cambridge Chimes, first used for the chimes of Great St Mary's church, Cambridge, and supposedly a variation, attributed to William Crotch, based on violin phrases from the air "I know that my Redeemer liveth" in Handel's Messiah.{{cite book |last=Phillips |first=Alan |title=The Story of Big Ben |year=1959 |publisher=Her Majesty's Stationery Office |page=13}}{{cite book |last=Starmer |first=William Wooding |title=Quarter Chimes and Chime Tunes |year=1910 |location=London |publisher=Novello |pages=6–8}} The notional words of the chime, again derived from Great St Mary's and in turn an allusion to Psalm 37:23–24, are: "All through this hour/Lord be my guide/And by Thy power/No foot shall slide".Lockyer, p. 149. They are written on a plaque on the wall of the clock room.{{cite news| last=Milmo| first=Cahel| title=Bong! A change of tune at Westminster| work=The Independent| date=5 June 2006| url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/this-britain/bong-a-change-of-tune-at-westminster-481163.html| access-date=8 April 2008| location=London}}

One of the requirements for the clock was that the first stroke of the hour bell should be correct to within one second per day. The tolerance is with reference to Greenwich Mean Time (BST in summer).{{cite web| publisher=Whitechapel Bell Foundry| title=The Story of Big Ben| url=http://www.whitechapelbellfoundry.co.uk/bigben.htm| access-date=9 July 2014}} So, at twelve o'clock, for example, it is the first of the twelve hour-bell strikes that signifies the hour (the New Year on New Year's Eve at midnight). The time signalled by the last of the "six pips" (UTC) may be fractionally different.

On 13 November 2022, Remembrance Sunday, the chimes of Big Ben returned to regular service for the first time since August 2017, preceding the hour bell being sounded at 11:00 a.m. local time, the first hour strike marking the beginning of two minutes of silence.{{Cite web |date=2022-11-13 |title=Big Ben to resume striking on Remembrance Sunday 2022 |url=https://www.parliament.uk/about/living-heritage/building/palace/big-ben/news/big-ben-to-resume-striking-on-remembrance-sunday-2022/ |website=UK Parliament}}

File:Paddington Trail - The Bear Of London.jpg statue, featuring Big Ben, located outside the National Gallery in Trafalgar Square in 2014]]

The clock has become a cultural symbol of the United Kingdom, particularly in the visual media. When a television or film-maker wishes to indicate a generic location in the country, a popular way to do so is to show an image of the tower, often with a red double-decker bus or black cab in the foreground.{{cite news |last=Patterson |first=John |title=City Light |url=http://arts.guardian.co.uk/filmandmusic/story/0,,2091939,00.html |date=1 June 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080618191946/http://arts.guardian.co.uk/filmandmusic/story/0%2C%2C2091939%2C00.html |archive-date=18 June 2008 |location=London |newspaper=The Guardian |access-date=26 December 2016 |url-status=dead |df=dmy-all}}

In 2008, a survey of 2,000 people found that the tower was the most popular landmark in the United Kingdom.{{cite news| url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/7337319.stm| work=BBC News| title=Big Ben 'UK's favourite landmark'| date=9 April 2008| access-date=26 April 2010}} It has also been named as the most iconic film location in London.{{cite web| url=http://www.metro.co.uk/2007/10/21/big-ben-most-iconic-london-film-location-385597| newspaper=Metro| title=Big Ben most iconic London film location| date=21 October 2007| location=London| access-date=30 April 2016}}

The sound of the clock chiming has also been used this way in audio media; the Westminster Quarters are imitated by other clocks and other devices, but the sound of Big Ben is preferred as the original and best. Big Ben is a focal point of New Year celebrations in the United Kingdom, with radio and television stations airing its chimes to welcome the start of the New Year. To welcome in 2012, the clock tower was lit with fireworks that exploded at every toll of Big Ben.{{cite web |title=Fireworks going off at the London Eye and Big Ben to welcome 2012 in London |url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q1yLRK2M8YQ |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211219/q1yLRK2M8YQ |archive-date=2021-12-19 |url-status=live|publisher=BBC One |access-date=31 December 2011}}{{cbignore}} Similarly, on Remembrance Day, the chimes of Big Ben are broadcast to mark the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month and the start of the two minutes' silence.{{cite news |title=Remembrance Day across the UK |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/4010971.stm |work=BBC News |date=14 November 2004 |access-date=13 August 2012}}

In 1999, prior to the millennium New Year, a recording of the clock was released by London Records under the title "Millennium Chimes", with the artist labelled as Big Ben. It reached number 53 for the week ending 8 January 2000 (which included purchases prior to 31 December 1999).{{Cite web |last=NME |date=2005-09-12 |title=Big Ben : Millennium chimes |url=https://www.nme.com/reviews/reviews-nme-4663-332834 |access-date=2023-12-24 |website=NME |language=en-GB}}{{Cite web |title=MILLENNIUM CHIMES – BIG BEN |url=https://www.officialcharts.com/songs/big-ben-millennium-chimes/ |access-date=24 December 2023 |website=Official Charts}}

The chimes of Big Ben have also been used at the state funerals of monarchs on four occasions, chiming one stroke for each year of the monarch's life: firstly, at the funeral of King Edward VII in 1910, (68 strokes); secondly, at the funeral of King George V in 1936 (70 strokes); thirdly, at the funeral of King George VI in 1952 (56 strokes);Hibbert & Weinreb, pp. 66–68. and lastly, at the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II in 2022 (96 strokes).{{Cite web |title=Big Ben tolled every minute for 96 minutes — once for every year of Queen Elizabeth II's life |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/big-ben-queen-elizabeth-ii-funeral-tolled-every-minute-96-chimes-for-queens-life/ |access-date=2022-09-19 |website=www.cbsnews.com |date=19 September 2022 |language=en-US}}

On some occasions, Londoners who live an appropriate distance from the tower and Big Ben can, by means of listening to the chimes both live and on analogue radio, hear the bell strike thirteen times. This is possible because the electronically transmitted chimes arrive virtually instantaneously, while the "live" sound is delayed travelling through the air since the speed of sound is relatively slow.{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U4lgFKYWx0o |title=How To Make Big Ben Strike Thirteen? - Secrets of the Universe - BBC Three |date=2010-11-01 |language=en |access-date=2024-04-23 |via=YouTube}}

ITN's News at Ten opening sequence formerly featured an image of the tower with the sound of Big Ben's chimes punctuating the announcement of the news headlines of the day.{{cite news| url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/2009/oct/22/itv-news-at-ten-big-ben| newspaper=The Guardian| title=ITV to drop Big Ben from News at Ten titles| first=James| last=Robinson| date=22 October 2009| access-date=13 August 2012| location=London}} The Big Ben chimes (known within ITN as "The Bongs") continue to be used during the headlines and all ITV News bulletins use a graphic based on the Westminster clock dial. Big Ben can also be heard striking the hour before some news bulletins on BBC Radio 4 (6 p.m. and midnight, plus 10 p.m. on Sundays) and the BBC World Service, a practice that began on 31 December 1923. The sound of the chimes is sent live from a microphone permanently installed in the tower and connected by line to Broadcasting House.{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/ahistoryoftheworld/objects/0plchBL6QIaFgEmPi5PzdA |title=Big Ben Microphone |publisher=BBC |access-date=15 April 2015}}

At the close of the polls for the 2010 general election the results of the national exit poll were projected onto the south side of the tower.{{cite web |title=General election results beamed onto Big Ben |url=http://www.parliament.uk/business/news/2010/05/big-ben-projections/ |website=UK Parliament |access-date=30 April 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101111152210/http://www.parliament.uk/business/news/2010/05/big-ben-projections/ |archive-date= 11 November 2010 |url-status=live}} On 27 July 2012, starting at 8:12 a.m, Big Ben chimed 30 times, to welcome the Games of the 30th Olympiad, which officially began that day, to London.{{cite web |date=27 July 2012 |title=Big Ben rings in Olympic Morning |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4TKKZsMl9Dg |url-status=live |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211219/4TKKZsMl9Dg |archive-date=2021-12-19 |access-date=10 April 2018 |work=ITV News |via=YouTube}}{{cbignore}}

File:Big Ben Covered in Scaffolding.jpgOn 21 August 2017, Big Ben's chimes fell silent for four years to allow essential restoration work to be carried out on the tower. The decision to silence the bells was made to protect the hearing of the workers on the tower, and drew much criticism from senior MPs and Prime Minister Theresa May.{{Cite news |last=Hughes |first=Laura |date=16 August 2017 |title=Theresa May says 'it can't be right for Big Ben to be silent for four years' |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/08/16/theresa-may-says-cant-right-big-ben-besilent-four-years/ |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220111/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/08/16/theresa-may-says-cant-right-big-ben-besilent-four-years/ |archive-date=11 January 2022 |access-date=12 July 2019 |work=The Daily Telegraph |location=London |language=en-GB |issn=0307-1235}}{{cbignore}} The striking and tolling of the bells for important occasions, such as New Year's Eve and Remembrance Sunday, was handled via an electric motor; and at least one of the four clock faces always remained visible during the restoration. Scaffolding was put up around the tower immediately after the bells were silenced. The cost of the project to the taxpayers and creditors was originally estimated to be roughly £29 million (equivalent to £{{formatprice|{{inflation|UK-GDP|29,000,000|2017}}}} in {{inflation/year|UK-GDP}}),{{inflation/fn|UK-GDP}} but it more than doubled, to £69 million (equivalent to £{{formatprice|{{inflation|UK-GDP|69,000,000|2020}}}} in {{inflation/year|UK-GDP}}).{{inflation/fn|UK-GDP}}{{Cite news |date=29 September 2017 |title=Big Ben tower repair costs double |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-41444415 |access-date=12 July 2019 |work=BBC News |language=en-GB}}

In February 2020, the renovations revealed that the Elizabeth Tower had sustained greater damage than previously thought from the May 1941 bombing raid that destroyed the adjacent House of Commons. Other costly discoveries included asbestos in the belfry, the "extensive" use of lead paint, broken glass on the clock dials, and serious deterioration to the tower's intricate stone carvings due to air pollution. The cost of addressing these problems was estimated at £18.6 million (equivalent to £{{formatprice|{{inflation|UK-GDP|18,600,000|2020}}}} in {{inflation/year|UK-GDP}}),{{inflation/fn|UK-GDP}} bringing the total budget for restoring the Elizabeth Tower to nearly £80 million (equivalent to £{{formatprice|{{inflation|UK-GDP|80,000,000|2020}}}} in {{inflation/year|UK-GDP}}).{{inflation/fn|UK-GDP}}{{Cite news |last=Syal |first=Rajeev |date=13 February 2020 |title=Wartime bomb damage and asbestos inflates Big Ben repair bill to £80m |url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2020/feb/13/asbestos-and-damage-discovery-inflates-big-ben-repair-bill-to-80m |access-date=13 February 2020 |work=The Guardian |location=London}}

The 2,567 cast-iron roof tiles were removed and refurbished, and a lift was installed to make access easier, along with a basic toilet facility with running water, for the first time in the tower itself. The Ayrton Light at the top of the tower, which is lit when Parliament is sitting, was also fully dismantled and restored along with the other lights in the Belfry, being replaced with low-energy LEDs.{{Cite news |date=26 April 2016 |title=Big Ben to be silenced for £29m refit |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-36138203 |access-date=12 July 2019 |work=BBC News |language=en-GB}} One of the most visible changes to the tower has been the restoration of the clock-face framework to its original colour of Prussian blue, used when the tower was first built in 1859, with the black paint that was used to cover up the soot-stained dial frames having been stripped away. The clock faces were regilded, and the shields of St George repainted in their original red and white colours. The 1,296 pieces of glass that make up the clock faces have also been removed and replaced.{{Cite news |last=Rosehill |first=Harry |date=21 March 2019 |title=Big Ben Has Been Repainted Blue |url=https://londonist.com/london/news/big-ben-goes-blue |access-date=12 July 2019 |work=Londonist |language=en-GB}}{{Cite web |date=29 September 2017 |title=Elizabeth Tower contract awarded – News from Parliament |url=https://www.parliament.uk/about/living-heritage/building/palace/big-ben/elizabeth-tower-conservation-contract-awarded/ |access-date=5 September 2020 |website=UK Parliament |language=en-GB}}

In December 2021, after four years of renovations and restoration, the tower emerged from behind its scaffolding in time for the ringing in of the new year.{{Cite news |last=Sandle |first=Paul |last2=Marks |first2=Lucy |date=2021-11-23 |title=London's Big Ben to show fresh face to ring in New Year |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/uk/londons-big-ben-show-fresh-face-ring-new-year-2021-11-23/ |access-date=2021-11-26 |work=Reuters |language=en}} In April 2022, the gantry supporting the scaffolding was removed.{{Cite news |title=Elizabeth Tower now free of scaffolding |url=https://www.parliament.uk/about/living-heritage/building/palace/big-ben/news/west-dial-re-connected-to-the-great-clock/ |access-date=1 June 2022 |publisher=UK Parliament}}

• {{Portal-inline|London}}
• Big Ben Aden; a 22-metre replica built in 1890
• Kolkata Time Zone Tower in Lake Town, Kolkata, India; a 30-metre replica built in 2015
• Little Ben; a smaller 1892 clock tower near London Victoria station

{{clear}}

{{reflist}}

{{Refbegin}}

• {{cite book| last=Fowler| first=H. W.| author-link=Henry Watson Fowler | title=The Concise Oxford dictionary of current English| edition=6th| year=1976| publisher=Clarendon Press| isbn=978-0-19-861121-9| url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/conciseoxforddic00syke}}
• {{cite book| title=Victorian Clocks| first=Richard| last=Good| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=s6AsAQAAIAAJ&q=big+ben| year=1996| publisher=British Museum Press| isbn=978-0-7141-0578-9}}
• {{cite book| first=Rosemary| last=Hill| title=God's Architect: Pugin & the Building of Romantic Britain|asin=B008W30TJO| publisher=Yale University Press| year=2009}}
• {{cite book| last=Lockyer| first=Herbert| title=A Devotional Commentary on Psalms| publisher=Kregel Christian Books| year=1993| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=08MSVzXA_Z8C&q=westminster| isbn=978-0-8254-9742-1}}
• {{cite book |last=McKay |first=Chris |title=Big Ben: the Great Clock and the Bells at the Palace of Westminster |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=r5V4HUiKRCUC&pg=SA2-PA47 |year=2010 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-958569-4}}
• {{cite encyclopedia |last1=Weinreb |first1=Ben |author1-link=Ben Weinreb |last2=Hibbert |first2=Christopher |author2-link=Christopher Hibbert |title=Big Ben |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xa0D0PqiwfEC&q=george+vi+funeral |year=2011 |encyclopedia=The London Encyclopaedia |edition=3rd |publisher=Macmillan |isbn=978-0-2307-3878-2 |access-date=27 October 2023}}

{{Refend}}

{{sister project links|d=y|voy=London/Westminster|n=yes|b=no|v=no|q=no|s=no}}

• {{Official website}} at UK Parliament
• [https://www.parliament.uk/about/living-heritage/building/palace/ The Palace of Westminster] at UK Parliament
• [http://www.houghtonlespring.org.uk/articles/big_ben_clapper.htm Big Ben's Clapper] at Houghton-le-Spring Heritage Society
• [https://www.flickr.com/photos/uk_parliament/tags/bigben Interior photos of the tower] at UK Parliament's Flickr
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20071012110834/http://www.raeng.org.uk/news/publications/list/lectures/Two_Towers_Lecture.pdf "A tale of Two Towers: Big Ben and Pisa"]—transcript of a lecture by John Burland (archived 12 October 2007)

• [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H3xgBS_kDNw What's inside Big Ben? (Elizabeth Tower)] Comprehensive 2022 YouTube animation that shows clock's workings
• [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UCwZ1iI3pdw Inside Big Ben's Makeover] short 2020 film by the B1M
• [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Elffjsjbio The Mechanical Genius of Big Ben (2017)] documentary by Discovery
• [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZukDFfy5cnc Big Ben's a Hundred (1959)] newsreel by British Pathé
• [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XtV-G2P0A74 Big Ben's Clean Up (1955)] by British Pathé
• [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y88TCW11SHM Big Ben: Inside London's Famous Clock (1950)] by British Pathé

{{Bells}}

{{London landmarks}}

{{Authority control}}

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