Description of the attraction
Big Ben (Big Ben) is the nickname for the main bell of the clock tower of Westminster Palace.
Famous bell
There is a tradition to baptize church bells and give them the name of a saint, but this bell most likely got its nickname in honor of Sir Benjamin Hall, who supervised the installation of the bell. Weighing almost 14 tons and three meters high, it is the second largest bell in Britain after Great Paul, the bell of St. Paul's Cathedral in London.
Over time, Big Ben began to be called not only the bell, but also the clock, and the entire clock tower. The tower - the last work of the architect Augustus Pugin - was built in 1858 in the neo-Gothic style. It is part of the Palace of Westminster, rebuilt after the fire in 1834. The height of the tower is 96.3 meters. Unfortunately, foreign tourists are not allowed inside the tower, but citizens of the United Kingdom can visit it on an organized guided tour with a member of Parliament. There is no elevator in the tower, 334 stone steps lead upstairs.
London symbol
The Tower Clock is the world's largest chime with 4 dials. The diameter of their dial is about 7 meters, the length of the hour hand is 2.7 meters, the minute hand is 4.3 meters. The watch is famous for its precision. Near the top of the pendulum are old one penny coins, which are used to adjust the mechanism. It is enough to put a coin on the pendulum, and the clock will change by 0.4 seconds per day. On New Year's Eve 1962, a heavy snowfall caused the hands to freeze, they began to move more slowly, and the pendulum, as planned, was disconnected from the main mechanism to avoid breakdowns and was swinging idle. Big Ben announced the 1962 offensive ten minutes late.
Big Ben has become London's calling card and symbol. If in some film it is necessary to show that the action takes place in the UK, the silhouette of Big Ben looms in the background. It is used in the intro to a news program, and the chimes are used as callsigns for the BBC.
It is interesting
- Big Ben officially bears the name of St. Stephen.
- The Big Ben bell has a crack, which causes a specific resonating sound produced by it.
- Due to the change in the state of the ground, the tower gradually deviates from the vertical.
- The tower has inscriptions in Latin - “Domine Salvam fac Reginam nostram Victoriam primam” (“God save our Queen Victoria I”) and “Laus Deo” (“Praise the Lord”).
- Big Ben served as a prison: for example, suffragist Emmeline Pankhurst spent some time in prison here.
On a note
- Location: Parlament Square, London.
- Nearest tube station: Westminster
- Official website: www.parliament.uk/about/living-heritage/building/palace/big-ben/enquiries
