Big Ben

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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 most famous clock tower in the wiorld, 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 - albeit begrudgingly by some. 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). UK residents can arrange a free tour of Big Ben through their local MP but space is extremely limited and you'll need to book three to six months in advance. Overseas visitors cannot currently visit the tower.

Big Ben