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Big Ben is the nickname for the Great Bell of the Great Clock of Westminster,[1][2] and, by extension, for the clock tower which stands at the north end of the Palace of Westminster in London, England.[3][4] Originally named the Clock Tower, the structure was renamed the Elizabeth Tower in 2012 to mark the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II. The clock is a striking clock with five bells.[2]

Key Information

The tower was designed by Augustus Pugin and Sir Charles Barry in the Perpendicular Gothic style and was completed in 1859. It is decorated with stone carvings and features symbols related to the four countries of the United Kingdom and the Tudor dynasty. A Latin inscription celebrates Queen Victoria, under whose reign the palace was built.[5] It stands 316 feet (96 m) tall, and the climb from ground level to the belfry is 334 steps. Its base is square, measuring 40 feet (12 m) on each side. The dials of the clock are 22.5 feet (6.9 m) in diameter.

The clock uses its original mechanism and was the largest and most accurate four-faced striking and chiming clock in the world upon its completion.[6] It was designed by Edmund Beckett Denison and George Airy, the Astronomer Royal, and constructed by Edward John Dent and Frederick Dent. It is known for its reliability, and can be adjusted by adding or removing pre-decimal pennies from the pendulum. The Great Bell was cast by the Whitechapel Bell Foundry and weighs 13.5 long tons (13.7 tonnes; 15.1 short tons).[4] Its nickname, "Big Ben", derives from the tall Sir Benjamin Hall, who oversaw its installation. There are four quarter bells, which chime on the quarter hours.

Big Ben is a British cultural icon. It is a prominent symbol of Britain and parliamentary democracy,[7] and is often used in the establishing shot of films set in London.[8] It has been part of a Grade I listed building since 1970, and in 1987 it was designated by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site.[9] The clock and tower were renovated between 2017 and 2021, during which the bells remained silent (with a few exceptions).[10]

Tower

[edit]

History

[edit]
Audio description of the tower by Gary O'Donoghue

Elizabeth Tower, originally named the Clock Tower, and popularly known as "Big Ben",[11] 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.[12] 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 designs by Pugin, including one for Scarisbrick Hall, a country house in Lancashire.[13] 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.[14] 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".[15]

Design

[edit]

Completed in 1859, the tower is designed in Pugin's Gothic Revival style and is 316 feet (96.3 m) high, making it the third-tallest clock tower in Britain. Its dials (at the centre) are 180 feet (54.9 m) above ground level. Its base is square, measuring 40 feet (12.2 m) on each side,[16] resting on concrete foundations 12 feet (3.7 m) thick.[17] 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 roof-tiles.[18] 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.[16]

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 the Tudor dynasty of England, 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;[19] and fleurs-de-lis, a legacy from when English monarchs claimed to rule France.[20]

A ventilation shaft running from ground level up to the belfry, which measures 16 feet (4.9 m) by 8 feet (2.4 m), 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.[21] The 2017–2021 conservation works included the addition of a lift in the shaft.[22]

Its foundations rest on a layer of gravel, below which is London Clay.[17] Owing to this soft ground, the tower leans slightly to the north-west by roughly 230 mm (9.1 in) over 55 m height, giving an inclination of approximately 1⁄240. This includes a planned maximum of 22 mm increased tilt due to tunnelling for the Jubilee Line Extension.[23] 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 of the London Underground.[24] It leans by about 500 mm (20 in) at the finial. Experts believe the leaning will not be a problem for another 4,000 to 10,000 years.[25]

The Palace of Westminster from across the River Thames. Elizabeth Tower is on the right.

Ayrton Light

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Ayrton Light, above the green-lit belfry

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.[26]

Prison Room

[edit]

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 Charles Bradlaugh, an atheist and the newly elected member of Parliament (MP) for Northampton, was imprisoned by the Serjeant at Arms after he protested against swearing a religious oath of allegiance to Queen Victoria.[27] 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.[28]

Name

[edit]

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.[29] 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 Queen 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.[30] On 26 June 2012 the Commons confirmed that the name change could proceed.[31] David Cameron, then the prime minister, announced the change of name on 12 September 2012.[32] It 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.[33]

Clock

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Dials

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Two restored clock dials in 2023

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 22.5 feet (6.9 m) in diameter making them the third-largest in the UK. They each contain 324 pieces of opalescent glass.[34] 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.[35] The ornate surrounds of the dials are gilded. At the base of each dial is the Latin inscription DOMINE SALVAM FAC REGINAM NOSTRAM VICTORIAM PRIMAM, which means "O Lord, keep safe our Queen Victoria the First".[36] Unlike Roman numeral clock dials that show the "4" position as IIII, the Great Clock faces depict "4" as IV.[37] Its gun metal hour hands and copper minute hands are 8.75 feet (2.7 m) and 14 feet (4.3 m) long respectively.[38]

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.[39] The Victorian glass was also removed and replaced with faithful reproductions made in Germany by the glassmakers Glasfabrik Lamberts.[40]

Movement

[edit]
The interior of the clock face in 2012
Technical line drawing of the Westminster clock mechanism with gear trains, pendulum, fly governors and an inscription crediting Frederick Dent and Edmund Beckett Denison.
Plan of the clock mechanism, annotated: “This Clock was made in the year of our Lord 1854 by Frederick Dent ... from the designs of Edmund Beckett Denison Q.C.”

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 the clockmaker Edward John Dent; after his death in 1853, his stepson Frederick Dent completed the work in 1854.[41] 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.[42] Denison never patented his design, and it quickly became the standard on all new high-quality tower clocks.[43]

Winding the clock mechanism

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.[44] 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.[45]

Big Ben keeps time to within a few seconds per week.[46] 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.[47]

On 10 May 1941, the day before the Blitz during the Second World War ended, an air raid by the Luftwaffe of Nazi Germany damaged two of the dials and sections of the tower's stepped roof and destroyed the Commons chamber. The 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.[48]

Breakdowns and other incidents

[edit]

19th century

[edit]
  • 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.[49][50]
  • 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.[49]

20th century

[edit]
  • 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.[51]
  • 1916: For two years during the First World War, the bells were silenced and the clock faces were not illuminated at night to avoid guiding attacking Zeppelins of the German Empire.[52] The bells were restored at 11:00 am on 11 November 1918 to mark the end of the war.[51]
  • 29 December 1927: Snow build-up on a clock face stopped the clock.[53]
  • Winter 1928: Heavy snow stopped the clock for several hours.[51]
  • 2 April 1934: The clock stopped from 7:16 am to 1:15 pm, when it was repaired.[54]
  • 23 September 1936: A painter in the clock room placed a ladder against a shaft driving the hands, stopping the clock from 8:47 am to 10:00 am.[51]
  • 1 September 1939: Although the bells continued to ring, the clock faces were not illuminated at night throughout the Second World War to avoid guiding bomber pilots during the Blitz.[52]
  • 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.[51] 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.[55]
  • 3–4 June 1941: The clock stopped from 10:13 pm 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.[56][51]
  • 9 December 1944: The clock hands stopped due to mechanical failure. The broken part‍— a pendulum suspension spring‍— was replaced within a few hours.[51]
  • 25–26 January 1945: Extremely cold temperatures froze the rubber bushings on the quarter-bell hammers, preventing the chimes sounding from 9:00 pm on the 25th to 9:00 pm the following evening; the BBC broadcast the pips in the interval.[51]
  • 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.[51]
  • 12 August 1949: The clock slowed by four-and-a-half minutes after a flock of starlings perched on the minute hand.[57][51]
  • 13 January 1955: The clock stopped at 3:24 am 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.[51]
  • 18 July 1955: The rope operating the striking hammer broke, silencing the clock from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm.[51]
  • 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.[58]
  • 30 January 1965: The bells were silenced during the funeral of Winston Churchill.[59]
  • 9 January 1968: Snow buildup on the clock faces blocked the hands from moving, stopping the clock from 6:28 am to 10:10 am.[51]
  • 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.[60] 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 Dent; since 2002, by parliamentary staff.
  • 11 June 1984: Two members of the environmental group Greenpeace scaled the tower and blocked the face for 11 hours.[61]
  • March 1986 and January 1987: The problem of the rubber bushings on the quarter bell chimes freezing recurred, muffling the chimes.[51]
  • 30 April 1997: The clock stopped 24 hours before the general election, and stopped again three weeks later.[62]

21st century

[edit]
Cleaning of the south clock face on 11 August 2007
  • 20 March 2004: Twenty years after their first scaling of the clocktower, Greenpeace activists blocked the clock face for seven hours.[63]
  • 27 May 2005: The clock stopped at 10:07 pm, possibly because of hot weather; temperatures in London had reached an unseasonable 31.8 °C (89.2 °F). It resumed, but stopped again at 10:20 pm, and remained still for about 90 minutes before resuming.[62]
  • 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.[64]
  • 7:00 am on 5 June 2006: The "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.[65] During this period, BBC Radio 4 broadcast recordings of British bird song followed by the pips in place of the usual chimes.[66]
  • 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.[67] During the maintenance the clock was driven by an electric motor.[68] 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.[69]
  • 17 April 2013: The bells were silenced as a mark of "profound dignity and deep respect" during the funeral of Margaret Thatcher.[70]
  • 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.[71]
  • 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.[72][73]
  • 10 May 2023: The clock dials all stopped at 12:55 pm, and Big Ben did not chime at 1:00 pm. The hands restarted, but the clock was five minutes slow until rectified at 1:47 pm.[55]
  • 8 March 2025: Around 7:24 am a 29-year-old man named Daniel Day scaled the side of the tower and sat on a ledge holding a Palestinian flag.[74] He posted videos and photos of his climb to his Instagram account.[75] His arrest required the involvement of police, firefighters, and emergency services, with a cherry picker used at midnight to bring him down, ending his 16-hour protest.[76] Authorities charged him with intentionally or recklessly causing a public nuisance and trespassing on a protected site, with trial scheduled for 8 June 2026.[77]

Bells

[edit]

Big Ben (Great Bell)

[edit]
The second "Big Ben" (centre) and the Quarter Bells from The Illustrated News of the World, 4 December 1858
Big Ben

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.[78]

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.[4] 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.[79]

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.[4][80] 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 200 ft (61.0 m) up to the Clock Tower's belfry, a feat that took 18 hours. It is 7 feet 6 inches (2.29 m) tall and 9 feet (2.74 m) 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.[4] 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.[4] 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.[81]

In August 2007 the striker was replaced for the first time since installation.[67]

Nickname

[edit]
The Right Honourable Sir Benjamin Hall, Minister of Public Works, January 1858.

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 the English heavyweight boxing champion Ben Caunt.[4][82][83] However, it is very clear from statements in the press at the time that the name derives from the nickname of Hall, who was very tall.[84][85][86][87][88][89] Now "Big Ben" is often used, by extension, to refer to the clock, the tower and the bell collectively, although it is not universally accepted as referring to the clock and tower.[90] 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.[60][91]

Chimes

[edit]
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♯, F♯, E, and B. They were cast by John Warner & Sons at their Crescent Foundry in 1857 (G♯, F♯ and B) and 1858 (E). The Foundry was in Jewin Crescent, in what is now known as the Barbican, in the City of London.[92] 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.[18]

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 George Frideric Handel's Messiah.[93][94] 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".[95] They are written on a plaque on the wall of the clock room.[96]

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).[97] 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 am local time, the first hour strike marking the beginning of two minutes of silence.[98]

Cultural significance

[edit]
A London-themed Paddington Bear 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.[99]

In 2008 a survey of 2,000 people found that the tower was the most popular landmark in Britain.[100] It has also been named as the most iconic film location in London.[101]

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.[102] Similarly, on Remembrance Day, the chimes are broadcast to mark the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month and the start of the two minutes' silence.[103]

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).[104][105]

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);[106] and lastly, at the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II in 2022 (96 strokes).[107]

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.[108]

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.[109] 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 pm 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.[110]

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.[111] On 27 July 2012, starting at 8:12 am, Big Ben chimed 30 times, to welcome the Games of the 30th Olympiad, which officially began that day, to London.[112]

2017–2021 restoration

[edit]
Scaffolding erected in 2017 to allow worker access
Big Ben in scaffolding, 2018

On 21 August 2017, the 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 was criticised by senior MPs and Prime Minister Theresa May.[113] 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 £35.7 million in 2023),[114] but it more than doubled, to £69 million (equivalent to £77.6 million in 2023).[114][115]

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 Commons chamber. Other costly discoveries included asbestos in the belfry, the extensive use of lead paint, broken glass on the clock dials, and serious deterioration to intricate stone carvings due to air pollution. The cost of addressing these problems was estimated at £18.6 million (equivalent to £20.9 million in 2023),[114] bringing the restoration budget to nearly £80 million (£90 million in 2023).[114][116]

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.[117] 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 Saint 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.[118][119]

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.[120] In April 2022, the gantry supporting the scaffolding was removed.[121]

In September 2025, the restoration of the tower was shortlisted for the Stirling Prize.[122]

See also

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References

[edit]

Bibliography

[edit]
[edit]
Revisions and contributorsEdit on WikipediaRead on Wikipedia

Big Ben

View on Grokipedia
from Grokipedia
Big Ben is the nickname for the Great Bell of the clock housed in the Elizabeth Tower at the Palace of Westminster in . The Elizabeth Tower, previously known as the , was renamed in 2012 to honour Queen Elizabeth II's . Standing at 96 metres tall with 11 floors, the Gothic Revival structure contains the Great Clock, designed for exceptional accuracy to within one second per day, and first chimed on 31 May 1859. The Great Bell, cast in 1858, measures 2.2 metres high and 2.7 metres in diameter, striking the hour on an E note. Big Ben serves as an enduring symbol of British parliamentary democracy and has undergone significant restoration, including a major conservation project from 2017 to 2022 that addressed structural deterioration while preserving its iconic chimes.

Nomenclature

Official Designations

The Great Bell, housed in the Elizabeth Tower of the Palace of Westminster, bears the official designation of Great Bell, though it is colloquially and enduringly known as Big Ben. This 13.7-tonne hour-striking bell, cast by in 1858, forms the primary audible component of the Great Clock mechanism. The enclosing structure, completed in 1859, holds the official title of Elizabeth Tower, renamed by resolution of the House of Commons on 26 June 2012 to mark Queen Elizabeth II's . Prior to this change, the tower was formally designated the Clock Tower from its inception as part of the reconstructed following the 1834 fire. The integrated timekeeping apparatus is officially termed the Great Clock, engineered by Edward John Dent and completed by his stepson Frederick Dent in 1854, with four dials measuring 7 meters in diameter. These designations distinguish the components amid widespread public usage of "Big Ben" to encompass the tower, clock, and bell collectively.

Origins of the Nickname

The nickname "Big Ben" refers specifically to the Great Bell, the largest of the five bells in the Elizabeth Tower's clock mechanism, weighing approximately 13.7 long tons (31,224 pounds) and cast on April 21, 1858, at the . The bell's official designation has always been the Great Bell, with the nickname emerging during or shortly after its installation in the tower on October 18, 1858, under the supervision of Sir Benjamin Hall, First Commissioner of Works. The prevailing explanation attributes the name to Sir Benjamin Hall (1802–1867), a Welsh and known among parliamentary colleagues for his imposing stature—standing over six feet tall and weighing more than 20 stone (280 pounds)—earning him the affectionate moniker "Big Ben." Hall's role involved resolving logistical challenges during the bell's hoisting, including overseeing the replacement of an initial cracked casting from , which may have popularized the association. This theory is endorsed by official ary records and aligns with contemporary accounts of Hall's prominence in the project. An alternative theory posits that the nickname derived from Benjamin Caunt (1815–1861), a celebrated English bare-knuckle champion active in the and , who was popularly known as "Big Ben" during his career peak. This interpretation draws on the era's slang for large, resonant objects or figures, as "Big Ben" was a common epithet for heavyweights, potentially evoking the bell's massive size and deep tone upon first striking on July 11, 1859. However, direct evidence linking Caunt to the bell remains anecdotal, with no surviving documents from the installation explicitly referencing the boxer, rendering the Hall attribution more directly corroborated by project oversight records.

Common Misconceptions

A widespread misconception holds that "Big Ben" refers to the Elizabeth Tower (previously known as the ) at the or its clock faces, whereas it specifically denotes the largest bell within the tower, officially termed the Great Bell. This confusion arose from metonymic usage over time, with the nickname extending colloquially to the entire structure despite official distinctions maintained by bodies like . Another common error attributes the nickname "Big Ben" definitively to Sir Benjamin Hall, the Commissioner of Works during the bell's installation in 1858, due to his large stature and involvement in overseeing its casting; alternatively, some sources link it to the heavyweight boxer Benjamin Caunt, known as "Big Ben," whose fame coincided with the bell's first ringing. However, the precise origin remains unverified, with no contemporary records confirming either , and the nickname appearing informally in parliamentary reports shortly after the bell's debut on July 11, 1859. The Great Bell is sometimes mistakenly believed to be the largest in Britain, but at 13.7 long tons (approximately 13,760 kg), it ranks behind several others, such as Great Paul at (16.75 long tons). Its prominence stems instead from ' broadcast during transmissions starting in 1923, amplifying cultural association rather than physical scale.

Construction and Early History

Inception and Architectural Design

The Palace of Westminster was largely destroyed by fire on 16 October 1834, necessitating the reconstruction of the parliamentary buildings. In the aftermath, Parliament commissioned a competition for a new design in 1835, selecting Charles Barry's Gothic Revival proposal the following year, which incorporated a prominent to house a public timepiece and signal parliamentary proceedings. Barry collaborated with Augustus Welby Pugin, engaging the latter in 1836 for the intricate detailing and stylistic elements, drawing inspiration from medieval English architecture, including earlier clock towers at Westminster and examples from . Construction of the new commenced in 1840, with the —initially known as the —beginning in September 1843 when its was laid. The design adopted the style, characterized by vertical lines, ornate tracery, and stone carvings symbolizing national emblems, such as the union of and represented in the tower's spire. Pugin's contributions emphasized neo-Gothic aesthetics, making the 96-meter (316-foot) structure a visual anchor for the complex, though his involvement ended prematurely due to decline by 1852. The tower's architectural form balanced the horizontal expanses of Barry's overall palace layout with vertical emphasis, featuring a central , corner turrets, and large clock faces integrated into the facade for visibility across . This design not only served functional purposes—providing accurate timekeeping for legislative sessions—but also evoked Britain's parliamentary heritage, contrasting with contemporaneous neoclassical trends. Completion of the tower structure occurred in 1859, marking the culmination of nearly two decades of planning and building amid engineering challenges.

Casting and Installation Challenges

The Great Bell, known as Big Ben, faced significant metallurgical and mechanical hurdles during its creation. The first iteration was cast in 1856 at the Warner foundry in , weighing around 16 tons, but it developed a 1.2-meter crack during testing on 17 October 1857, primarily due to the excessive force from the intended striking hammer. The fractured bell's metal was salvaged and sent to London's , where it was recast on 10 April 1858 into a reduced 13.5-ton (13.76-tonne) version to mitigate stress risks. Despite these adjustments, the recast bell cracked again after its initial strikes on 11 July 1859, following installation in the earlier that year. The damage occurred in September 1859 from repeated hammer impacts, prompting engineers to install a lighter hammer and rotate the bell 180 degrees to distribute strikes across an undamaged section, preserving its functionality without further recasting. Hoisting the 13.5-ton bell into the tower's belfry posed logistical difficulties, requiring specialized rigging and coordination amid the Palace of Westminster's reconstruction after the 1834 fire; the operation culminated successfully by May 1859, aligning with the Great Clock's activation on 31 May.

Initial Operations and Adjustments

The Great Clock mechanism, designed by Edmund Beckett Denison and constructed by Edward Dent, commenced operation on 31 May 1859, marking the first ticking of the tower's timepiece after its installation in the previous month. This event followed the tower's completion in 1858 and represented a significant achievement, as the clock was then the largest and most accurate four-faced in the world, regulated by a 13.7-tonne swinging once every two seconds. Its initial performance demonstrated high precision, with minimal need for immediate fine-tuning beyond standard setup procedures. The quarter-hour chimes and hourly strikes, including those from the Great Bell, were first heard publicly on 11 July 1859, integrating the full chiming sequence into the clock's routine. The Great Bell, weighing approximately 13.7 tonnes and cast at , was struck by an external hammer as a fixed installation rather than swinging freely, a configuration intended to produce resonant tones across . However, within months of its debut—specifically by October 1859—the Great Bell developed a crack near its rim, attributed to the excessive force of the original hammer, which weighed over 700 pounds and was designed without sufficient calibration for the bell's fixed position. To address this without full recasting, engineers chipped out a small square section of metal around the crack site, rotated the bell by a quarter turn to shift the impact point away from the damaged area, and replaced the hammer with a lighter version weighing about 450 pounds. These modifications restored functionality, though the persistent crack subtly altered the bell's acoustic properties, contributing to its distinctive timbre that has endured since. The clock mechanism itself required no comparable alterations at inception, underscoring Denison's innovative escapement and gravity-driven design for long-term reliability.

The Elizabeth Tower

Structural Features

The Elizabeth Tower rises to a height of 96 metres (315 feet), equivalent to stacking 21 London buses vertically, and contains 11 floors. Its base forms a square measuring approximately 12.2 metres on each side, constructed on a foundation that supports the weight of the clock mechanism and bells. The tower's structure consists of 61 metres of brickwork encased in sand-coloured Anston limestone from quarries in South Yorkshire, providing durability and aesthetic cohesion with the Palace of Westminster's Gothic Revival ensemble. Above this masonry rises a two-tier cast-iron spire, crowned by a cross and flagstaff, which adds to the tower's vertical emphasis and Gothic silhouette. Architect Augustus Pugin designed the tower in the Gothic Revival style, characterized by pointed arches, intricate stone tracery on the clock faces, and decorative pinnacles along the upper levels. The iron-framed roof, spanning 30 metres high, utilizes large cast-iron tiles up to 600 mm by 400 mm, engineered to withstand London's weather while maintaining structural integrity. Internally, elements like Caen stone from Normandy were employed for finer detailing.

Specialized Elements

The Ayrton Light consists of a lantern-like structure positioned at the apex of the Elizabeth Tower's . Installed in 1885, it is activated to illuminate the clock faces whenever either the or convenes after dark, functioning as a public indicator of parliamentary sessions. Named for Acton Smee Ayrton, who served as First Commissioner of Works and advocated its addition to mitigate public complaints regarding extended evening debates, the light originally employed gas illumination before transitioning to electricity. The tower's summit also incorporates a cast-iron roof comprising hundreds of interlocking tiles, each up to 600 mm long and 400 mm wide, designed for durability against London's weather exposure. Beneath each of the four clock dials appears a gilt-lettered Latin inscription: "DOMINE SALVAM FAC REGINAM NOSTRAM VICTORIAM PRIMAM," which translates to "O Lord, save our the First." This dedication reflects the tower's completion during 's reign and underscores the era's monarchical loyalty. The Elizabeth Tower features intricate stone carvings, including symbolic motifs representing the four constituent nations of the — for , thistle for , shamrock for , and leek or dragon for —alongside Tudor dynasty emblems such as the and . These elements, crafted before assembly, integrate Gothic Revival aesthetics with national iconography, enhancing the tower's ornamental facade.

Evolution of the Name

The tower, completed in 1859 as part of the Palace of Westminster's reconstruction following the 1834 fire, was officially designated the Clock Tower from its inception, reflecting its primary function as the housing for the Great Clock and its dials visible from Westminster. This formal name persisted for over 150 years, even as the public increasingly associated the structure with the nickname "Big Ben," which originated with the Great Bell installed in 1859 and gradually extended to the entire tower by the late 19th and early 20th centuries due to the bell's prominence in striking the hour. The informal adoption of "Big Ben" for the tower solidified in , media, and , despite official parliamentary documents and signage consistently using "Clock Tower" to distinguish it from other Westminster features, such as St. Stephen's Tower (the adjacent structure housing the Speaker's residence). This dual nomenclature created ongoing confusion, with "Big Ben" evoking the bell's deep chimes but colloquially encompassing the 96-meter Gothic Revival spire designed by and realized under . On June 25, 2012, the Commission voted to rename the Clock Tower the Elizabeth Tower in honor of Queen Elizabeth II's , marking the first official change to its designation since construction; the announcement followed on June 26. This rebranding aimed to commemorate the monarch's 60 years on the throne while preserving the historical distinction between the tower and the bell, though "Big Ben" remained entrenched in global usage, appearing in guides, broadcasts, and branding without formal endorsement. The shift underscored a tension between official precision—emphasizing the tower's architectural and functional role—and the enduring, affectionate rooted in 19th-century parliamentary lore.

The Great Clock Mechanism

Core Components and Operation

The Great Clock of Westminster operates as a weight-driven , utilizing three interconnected gear trains to manage timekeeping, quarter-hour chimes, and hourly striking. The going train advances the minute and hour hands across the four dials, while the chiming and striking trains activate the bells via cam-operated hammers, with the entire mechanism housed in a cast-iron frame weighing approximately 12 tonnes and comprising over 1,000 individual components. Central to its precision is the double three-legged gravity escapement, invented by Edmund Beckett Denison and installed in 1859, which delivers impulses to the through the controlled fall of gravity arms rather than direct contact with the escape wheel, thereby minimizing disturbances from variable driving forces and achieving an accuracy of about one second per day. The itself measures 13 feet 9 inches in length and swings with a period of two seconds, its motion sustained by the 's release of energy from descending weights totaling around 700 kilograms across the trains. A mechanism within the going train ensures constant torque delivery to the , compensating for inconsistencies in the weight's fall. In normal operation, the weights descend slowly under , powering the gear s until manual rewinding—performed three times weekly by parliamentary staff using an electric —restores them to their elevated positions, a process that takes about an hour and activates a maintaining power reserve to prevent disruption during winding. The chiming engages every quarter-hour via levers synchronized to the going , while the striking counts the hour by locking and releasing based on the time indicated, with safety mechanisms like the "escape wheel lock" preventing over-striking during faults. Temperature compensation occurs through the pendulum's steel rod and mercury jar bob, adjusting for to maintain consistent swing length.

Clock Dials and Visibility

The Great Clock features four dials, each measuring 7 metres in and positioned at the centre height of 55 metres above ground level on the Elizabeth Tower. These dials are constructed with frames holding 324 pieces of pot opal per face, enabling translucency for backlighting while maintaining structural integrity. Designed by in a Gothic Revival style, the dials display —each 60 centimetres tall—in a distinctive script where the numeral for 10 incorporates an F-shaped form instead of a standard X, diverging from classical Roman conventions for aesthetic alignment with the tower's architecture. The clock hands contribute to the dials' legibility: hour hands extend 2.7 metres and minute hands reach 4.2 metres, the latter fashioned from sheets weighing approximately 100 kilograms including counterweights. This scale, paired with the dials' high-contrast black numerals against the opal glass backdrop, facilitates clear time-reading from ground level and afar. Originally illuminated by gas lamps post-installation in 1859, the dials transitioned to electric lighting in the early , with each face now employing multiple bulbs to ensure nighttime visibility across . The dials' elevated placement and expansive size render them discernible from distances of several miles under optimal conditions, serving as a prominent navigational and temporal for the city. An additional Ayrton atop the tower illuminates when is in session, indirectly drawing attention to the dials but not altering their inherent visibility design. During wartime, such as 1916 and 1939–1945, illumination was suspended to reduce visibility to potential aerial threats, underscoring the dials' otherwise constant prominence.

Precision Engineering and Accuracy

The Great Clock's precision stems from its innovative design by Edmund Beckett Denison, an amateur horologist who specified features to minimize errors from friction, temperature, and mechanical interference, making it the most accurate public upon completion in 1859. Central to this is the double three-legged gravity , which releases energy to the solely through gravitational force without direct mechanical impulse, ensuring the pendulum's swing remains undisturbed by irregularities or winding operations. This , fabricated from and hardened steel, operates with the swinging freely every two seconds, with the clock's frame bolted directly to the tower structure to further isolate vibrations. Temperature compensation is achieved through the pendulum rod's , which incorporates materials with differential expansion rates to counteract steel's lengthening in , maintaining a consistent period; the original design specified a 13-foot-9-inch (4.22-meter) rod weighing approximately 673 pounds (305 kg). Fine adjustments for accuracy involve stacking old pennies (pre-decimalization) on the bob, where each alters the effective length and thus the rate by about 0.4 seconds per day, allowing keepers to correct cumulative errors empirically. In practice, the clock maintains time within a few seconds per week under normal conditions, with striking tolerance set at two seconds of for operational normalcy; historical tests, such as one in 1930, confirmed variations rarely exceeding fractions of a second daily when properly regulated. Despite its mechanical simplicity lacking modern or atomic references, the system's robustness—evidenced by over 160 years of near-continuous operation—demonstrates Denison's emphasis on causal reliability over complexity, with periodic overhauls preserving its inherent precision.

The Bells System

The Great Bell

The Great Bell, commonly known as Big Ben, is the hour-striking bell housed within the Elizabeth Tower at the Palace of Westminster. It measures 2.7 meters in diameter and 2.2 meters in height, with a weight of 13.7 tonnes. Cast from , the bell produces a musical note of when struck by its 200 kg hammer. The original bell, weighing approximately 14.5 tonnes, was cast in August 1856 by the Whitechapel Bell Foundry but developed a 1.2-meter crack during ground-level testing in October 1857, attributed to an excessively heavy hammer. Disputes arose between the foundry and clock designer Edmund Beckett Denison over responsibility, leading to the decision to recast the bell using metal from the cracked original plus additional stock. The recast bell was completed on 10 April 1858 at the foundry in Stockton-on-Tees. Installed in the tower on 14 October 1858 after being hoisted in sections, the bell began regular operation in July 1859 but cracked again within two months due to the initial 's weight exceeding design tolerances. Engineers responded by reducing the to about one-third of its original and rotating the bell one-eighth turn to strike an uncorroded section, allowing continued use without recasting. This persistent vertical crack, measuring roughly 1.2 meters, alters the bell's , contributing to its distinctive tone, and has not been repaired as the bell remains functional. During the 2017-2022 restoration of the Elizabeth Tower, the Great Bell was cleaned and inspected but not altered, with striking silenced for safety until November 2022 when it resumed hourly chimes. The bell's operation integrates with the Great Clock, which actuates the hammer via mechanical linkage, ensuring precise timing derived from the clock's pendulum-regulated .

Quarter Chimes and Smaller Bells

The Elizabeth Tower houses four quarter bells, in addition to the Great Bell, which together produce the Westminster Chimes every 15 minutes. These fixed bells are struck externally by hammers rather than being swung with internal clappers, enabling precise timing synchronized with the Great Clock. The chimes follow a derived from portions of Handel's Four Tunes or adaptations from Croft's hymns, progressing in complexity: a simple four-note round on the first quarter, an eight-note variant on the second, a 12-note sequence on the third, culminating in the full 16-note tune before the hour, after which the Great Bell strikes the hour. The quarter bells, cast by the in 1857 alongside the original Great Bell (which was recast after cracking), vary in size and pitch to form a in , with notes G♯, F♯, E, and B. Their specifications are as follows:
BellWeight (tonnes)Diameter (m)Note
First1.11.1G♯
Second1.31.2F♯
Third1.71.4E
Fourth4.01.8B
These bells were installed in the tower's in , with the mechanism designed by clockmaker Edward Dent to ensure the chimes precede the hourly strike by the Great Bell, maintaining auditory hierarchy. No additional smaller bells beyond these four exist in the tower's primary chiming system, though auxiliary mechanisms have occasionally employed lighter bells during maintenance periods, such as a smaller set for temporary hourly strikes in the after the Great Bell's initial fracture. The quarter chimes have operated continuously since activation on 31 May , except during wartime silences (1916–1918 and 1940–1944 for blackout precautions) and restoration works, such as the 2017–2021 conservation that recast minor components for durability.

Operational History and Incidents

19th-Century Events

The Great Clock mechanism, designed by Edward Dent and completed under his son Frederick, began operation on 31 May 1859, marking the start of timekeeping in the tower. The initial Great Bell, cast on 6 August 1856 at John Warner's foundry in Norton, , developed a 1.2-meter crack during ground testing in 1857, necessitating its recasting. The replacement bell, weighing approximately 13.7 tonnes, was cast on 10 April 1858 at the and hoisted into the tower on 14 October 1858 after transport requiring 16 horses. This second Great Bell first chimed on 11 1859 as part of the full Westminster chimes sequence. However, in 1859, it sustained a crack approximately 1.5 meters long due to strikes from a hammer weighing over twice the recommended size for its dimensions. To mitigate further damage, the bell was rotated by one-eighth turn, and a lighter hammer was installed, allowing it to resume service without full recasting. Earlier, the four quarter bells, cast in 1857, also experienced cracking issues during testing, though they were repaired and integrated into the chiming mechanism by 1859. These events highlighted the challenges of the era, including material stresses and precise calibration required for the bells' sustained operation.

20th-Century Challenges

During the Second World War, the Elizabeth Tower endured significant structural damage from German air raids. On the night of 10-11 May 1941, as part of the , incendiary bombs and high-explosive ordnance struck the Palace of Westminster complex, destroying the chamber and causing shrapnel impacts on the tower's clock dials and roof. Despite the bombardment, the Great Clock mechanism continued to function, with repairs undertaken contemporaneously to restore the damaged elements. Subsequent assessments during the 2017-2022 restoration revealed the bomb damage to be more extensive than initially documented, including unrepaired fractures in the stonework. Throughout the mid-20th century, the clock faced intermittent operational failures due to environmental factors. In and , severe cold weather froze the quarter-bell hammers, halting temporarily. On 13 January 1955, snow accumulation on the north and east clock dials caused the mechanism to stop at 3:24 a.m. for approximately 30 minutes, prompting the installation of small electric heaters inside the dials to prevent recurrence. Additionally, in 1949, a large flock of starlings perched on the minute hand slowed the clock by 4 to 5 minutes. Mechanical wear led to more prolonged disruptions later in the century. In August 1976, metal fatigue in the clock's supporting structure caused one of the weights to dislodge, stopping the clock and silencing the bells for nine months until repairs were completed. On 30 April 1997, the clock halted at 12:11 p.m. for 43 minutes due to an unspecified mechanical fault. Air pollution from industrial activity and vehicular emissions progressively blackened the tower's stonework and clock faces with soot and grime throughout the century. By , accumulated damage from and bird droppings necessitated for initial repairs. In the , extensive efforts removed decades of encrusted pollutants, restoring the masonry's original hues after months of scaffold-enclosed work completed by late 1985.

21st-Century Issues

The Elizabeth Tower exhibited a slight lean of 0.26 degrees toward the northwest, measured in 2011 via laser survey and amounting to roughly 0.5 meters of offset at its 96-meter height, attributed to ground settlement but deemed stable with no projected instability for over 10,000 years. On 27 May 2005, the Great Clock halted at 10:07 p.m. during extreme heat of 31.8°C in , remaining silent as the minute hand paused before advancing erratically for 13 minutes and stalling once more, an event linked to affecting the mechanism. Post-restoration, the clock faced renewed operational failures in May 2023: on 12 May, it showed inaccurate time and omitted hourly chimes; five days later, on 19 May, it froze for approximately 30 minutes owing to a mechanical fault in the or linkage, requiring manual intervention by parliamentary horologists.

Restoration Efforts

Pre-2017 Maintenance

Prior to the comprehensive restoration initiated in 2017, the Elizabeth Tower and its Great Clock underwent routine and targeted to mitigate wear from age, environmental exposure, and mechanical stress. Parliamentary clock mechanics conducted regular inspections and adjustments to maintain the clock's renowned accuracy, while structural conservation addressed stone erosion and . In the mid-1980s, conservation works included cleaning and repairing the stonework, repainting and gilding elements, fixing the roof, and stabilizing the overall structure to counteract damage and structural fatigue. These efforts, spanning 1983-1985, tackled multiple tower issues but fell short of comprehensive overhaul. A major mechanical failure struck on 5 August 1976, when metal fatigue in the fly-fan regulator caused the chime mechanism to accelerate uncontrollably, resulting in a 1.5-ton weight plummeting and severely damaging gears. Repairs extended nearly nine months, silencing Big Ben until May 1977. Clock dials received periodic cleaning to remove grime, with workers suspended via ropes accessing the faces; documented sessions occurred from 1992 to 2009, building on earlier methods. Essential maintenance in silenced Big Ben and the quarter bells from 11 August to 1 October, focusing on component refurbishment to ensure continued operation amid accumulating strain. By the , persistent issues like cracking stone and mechanism wear underscored the need for broader intervention beyond these incremental fixes.

2017-2022 Comprehensive Restoration

The Elizabeth Tower restoration project, initiated in August 2017, addressed critical structural deterioration, including crumbling stonework and fire safety risks accumulated over decades of deferred maintenance. The works encompassed comprehensive repairs from the gilt cross and orb at the tower's pinnacle to the base of its 334-step spiral staircase, marking the largest conservation effort in the structure's history. Principal contractor Sir Robert McAlpine erected a 98-meter scaffold enveloping the tower to facilitate access for stone replacement, window refurbishment, and internal upgrades. The project scope included meticulous refurbishment of the Great Clock mechanism, conservation of the Big Ben bell to prevent further corrosion, and restoration of the four clock dials, which were rotated individually during works to maintain visibility. Additional discoveries, such as unrepaired World War II bomb damage, necessitated expanded repairs, contributing to significant cost escalations from an initial estimate of £61.1 million to £79.7 million by February 2020. The COVID-19 pandemic further delayed progress, pushing full completion into 2022 despite phased advancements like partial scaffolding removal starting in autumn 2021. Key milestones included the reinstatement of quarter chimes in January 2022 and the resumption of Big Ben's full bongs on November 13, 2022, after four years of near-silence except for state occasions. Scaffolding was progressively dismantled through winter 2021-2022, with the tower fully unveiled by May 2022, allowing public views of the restored facade. The principal contractor remained on site until December 2022 to verify work quality and support operational handover. Despite criticisms over costs exceeding £80 million in total, the restoration preserved the tower's functionality and extended its lifespan for future generations.

Post-Restoration Developments and Recognition

Following the completion of the comprehensive restoration in August 2022, the Great Bell, known as Big Ben, resumed its regular chiming on , 2022, in preparation for , with full service returning on November 15, 2022, after four days of testing. The clock faces were restored to their original color, and the exterior stonework was cleaned, revealing the tower's Victorian-era aesthetics without the that had obscured it since 2017. As part of post-restoration enhancements, a service elevator was installed within the 316-foot (96-meter) structure to facilitate ongoing , marking a modern adaptation to the historic tower. The restoration project, which ultimately cost £79.7 million—more than double the initial £29 million estimate—has received critical acclaim for its preservation efforts despite the budgetary overruns. In 2025, the Elizabeth Tower's refurbishment earned multiple accolades, including the National Award and London Award, recognizing the comprehensive conservation work conducted over five years. Additionally, it received the AABC Conservation Award for exemplary heritage restoration practices. Further recognition came in September 2025 when the project was shortlisted for the prestigious , the UK's highest architecture honor, making it the first conservation effort to achieve this nomination and highlighting its success in restoring the tower to its 19th-century condition while ensuring longevity. This acclaim underscores the technical achievements in repairing elements from the gilt cross at the summit to the base of the 334-step staircase, preserving the tower as a component within the Palace of Westminster.

Symbolic and Cultural Role

National and Imperial Symbolism

Big Ben, the Great Bell within the Elizabeth Tower of the Palace of Westminster, functions as a key national symbol of the , representing parliamentary democracy and the endurance of British institutions. Its chimes, broadcast since 1923, have marked significant national events and reinforced a sense of British identity, particularly during crises such as the German Blitz in , when the tower's survival and continued ringing symbolized resilience against aerial bombardment. The structure's prominence in , adjacent to the Houses of Parliament, underscores its role as an emblem of governance and temporal order, with the bell's hourly strikes serving as a auditory reminder of legislative continuity since its first toll on July 11, 1859. In the context of imperial symbolism, Big Ben evoked the cohesion of the during its 19th- and early 20th-century zenith, as the clock tower—completed in 1859 amid Queen Victoria's reign—projected Britain's industrial and administrative prowess to colonial territories. The chimes' radio transmissions from the 1920s onward extended this symbolism globally, fostering a shared temporal across imperial outposts and, by 1941, underpinning campaigns like the "Big Ben Light" initiative to rally forces against by associating the bell's sound with unified imperial resolve. This auditory reach highlighted the Palace of Westminster as the empire's political nerve center, where timekeeping mechanisms, accurate to within one second per day, mirrored the perceived precision of British imperial governance. Post-imperial decline, the tower's enduring visibility in global media has sustained its status as a marker of Britain's historical influence, though its symbolism has shifted toward national rather than expansive imperial themes, reflecting the UK's transition to a post-colonial parliamentary .

Role in Public Life and Media

The chimes of Big Ben have been broadcast live by the since 31 December 1923, when they were first transmitted nationwide on from a rooftop microphone opposite the Palace of Westminster. This inaugural broadcast, engineered by A.G. Dryland, marked the beginning of the bell's integration into national timekeeping, with the quarter-hour chimes and hourly strikes preceding news bulletins thereafter. The practice extended to television in later decades, embedding the sound as a familiar prelude to public information dissemination and fostering a collective auditory association with official announcements. In British public life, Big Ben functions as a temporal anchor for state occasions and civic routines, its strikes tolling to signal parliamentary sessions, royal proclamations, and moments of national reflection, such as commemorations. During , the BBC's continued wartime broadcasts of the chimes—despite blackout restrictions—served as a morale-boosting emblem of endurance and democratic continuity for both domestic and overseas audiences. The bell's periodic silences, as during restorations, have occasionally sparked public discourse on versus maintenance, highlighting its embedded role in communal expectations of reliability. Media portrayals amplify Big Ben's visibility as a metonym for and governance, frequently featured in news footage of Westminster events, political protests in , and international reporting on British affairs. In film and television, it appears in establishing shots for narratives set in the capital, reinforcing its status as a for parliamentary and urban heritage, from classic cinema to contemporary series. and have similarly invoked its image and sound, embedding it in global cultural for Britain, though such depictions prioritize visual iconography over mechanical precision.

Global Perception and Legacy

Big Ben serves as a globally recognized emblem of British parliamentary and national identity, frequently invoked in international discourse on and . Its distinctive and chimes have positioned it as a shorthand for and the in worldwide media, tourism, and diplomacy, with the Palace of Westminster complex—housing the bell—designated a in 1987 for embodying tied to legislative heritage. Surveys of global landmarks consistently rank it among the most iconic structures, drawing over 2 million visitors annually to Westminster before pandemic restrictions, underscoring its role in projection. In , Big Ben permeates films, television, and advertising as an establishing visual cue for British settings, appearing in over 100 major productions since the mid-20th century, from Alfred Hitchcock's (1940) to contemporary series like . The BBC's inaugural broadcast of its chimes on 1923 marked the onset of its auditory legacy, with transmissions reaching international audiences via during , symbolizing resilience amid —despite shrapnel damage to the tower in 1940. This media ubiquity fosters perceptions of temporal precision and institutional continuity, though occasional silences, such as the 2017-2022 restoration period, prompted global commentary on emotional attachments to its reliability as a "voice of Britain." The bell's legacy endures through its mechanical accuracy—accurate to within one second per day—and influence on timekeeping standards, inspiring replicas like the "" in (now demolished) and informing global horological practices. Publications such as Big Ben: An Icon of Democracy (2022) highlight its transcendence beyond a mere timepiece to represent enlightenment values, with six British monarchs and 41 prime ministers witnessing its operations since 1859. Internationally, it evokes both admiration for democratic symbolism and critiques of imperial nostalgia, yet empirical data from indices affirm its top-tier status in cultural export value, outranking many peers in recognition metrics.

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