Big Ben: London’s most famous clock

Big Ben is London’s, and probably the world’s, most famous clock. Big Ben is a four-faced clock situated at the north end of the Palace of Westminster / Houses of Parliament.
Big Ben is one of London’s best-known landmarks, and looks most spectacular at night when the clock faces are illuminated. You even know when parliament is in session, because a light shines above the clock face.

The four dials of the clock are 23 feet square, the minute hand is 14 feet long and the figures are 2 feet high.
Minutely regulated with a stack of coins placed on the huge pendulum, Big Ben is an excellent timekeeper, which has rarely stopped.

The name Big Ben refers not to the clock-tower itself, but to the thirteen-ton bell hung within. The bell was named after the first commissioner of works, Sir Benjamin Hall.

The chimes of Big Ben Great Bell are so loud that they can be heard miles away.

Can I visit and go and inside Big Ben?
Unfortunately the clock is not open to the public.

Eric Patcham

Eric has lived in London for over 20 years.

Recent Posts

Hampstead Heath Seeks Volunteer Shepherds as Sheep Return to the Heath

A small flock of five sheep is returning to Hampstead Heath from 29 May to 8…

6 days ago

Gypsy Hill: The Queen of London’s Underworld

In that murky half-light between fact and legend stands one of the most vivid figures…

6 days ago

London’s Ghost Stations: The Secret Platforms Beneath Your Commute

Threading quietly through clay and darkness, sits a parallel version of the Underground: a network…

7 days ago

London’s Top 5 Car Boot Sales

Somewhere in a school playground or academy yard, beneath a grey sky and the smell…

7 days ago

Joey Pyle: London Gangster

London loves a gangster myth. It polishes them up, gives them a sharp suit, a…

1 week ago

London’s Cosmic House

London’s Cosmic House is one of the strangest, cleverest private houses in the city: a Holland Park…

2 weeks ago

This website uses cookies.