One of the world's most unique buildings, Big Ben is located on the north end of London's Westminster Palace. This tower is actually a clock used in the past to see time in London. It is one of the world's four biggest face clocks. This tower was officially called Clock tower before 2012, but after the 60 years of the reign of Elizabeth, this tower was renamed as Elizabeth Tower. It's a great experience on seeing it.
Interesting facts about Big Ben by Patrick Mahony
This historic name was given to "Big Ben" in 1856 by John Warner and his sons, which was named after Sir Benjamin Hall. This tower was completed in the year 1859.
This clock tower is one of the 4 largest towers in the world, with a total height of 96 meters.
The first bell used in this tower was about 16 tonnes, which was about 2.1 meters in height, which was later broken and replaced by a 16-ton bell, which was approximately 61 meters in height.
The clock used in this tower was designed by Augustus Pagin.
The diameter of the clock face is approximately 23 feet (7.0 meters), in which the number is written in Roman count.
The pendulum used in this tower is about 3 feet (4.0 meters) long and about 300 kg heavy.
There are 334 stairs to reach the top of this tower and there is no lift facility available in it.
This clutter rings at every 15 minutes, which can be easily heard for about 8 kilometers (5 miles).
To control the speed of the clock every year, the old English penny (the UK's exorcise currency) is inserted, in order to increase the speed of the clock, a penny is emptied.
This tower is slightly tilted to the north-west by about 8.66 inches. According to a report in the year 2003, it is bending by up to 1 millimeter per year.
About 6 million people go to London every year,to see this tower.
In the year 2012, on the 60th anniversary of the reign of Queen Elizabeth II, the official name of this belfry was changed from the clock tower to the Elizabeth Tower.
~Patrick Mahony