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Big Ben is the nickname of the Great Bell of Westminster, the hour bell of the Great Clock , hanging in the Clock Tower of the Palace of Westminster, the home of the Houses of Parliament in the United Kingdom.

The bell was named "Big Ben" after Sir Benjamin Hall, the Chief Commissioner of Works. Another theory suggests that at the time anything which was heaviest of its kind was called "Big Ben" after the then-famous prizefighter Benjamin Caunt , making it a natural name for the bell.

Big Ben is commonly taken to be the name of the clock tower itself, but this is incorrect - the tower is simply known as The Clock Tower. Sometimes, the tower is referred to as St. Stephen's Tower, but this title is not used by staff of the Palace of Westminster.

The bell weighs 13.8 tonnes (13 tons 10cwt 99lb), with a striking hammer weighing 203.2kg (4cwt), and was originally tuned to E. There is delay of 5 seconds between strikes. It is a common misconception that Big Ben is the heaviest bell in Britain. In fact, it is only the third heaviest, the second heaviest being Great George found at Liverpool Cathedral (14 tons 15cwt 2qr 2lb) and the heaviest being Great Paul found at St Paul's Cathedral (16 tons 14cwt 2qt 19lb).

The original tower designs demanded a 14 ton bell to be struck with a 6cwt hammer. A bell was produced by John Warner and Sons in 1856, weighing 16 tons. However, this cracked under test in the Palace Yard. The contract for the bell was then given to the Whitechapel Bell Foundry, who in 1858 re-cast the bell into the 13 ton bell used today. It too started to crack under the 6cwt hammer, and a legal battle arose. After two years of having the Great Bell out of commission, the 6cwt hammer was replaced with a lighter 4cwt hammer, and the bell itself was turned 90 degrees so the crack would not develop any further, coming back into use in 1862. However, the crack, now filled, and the turn meant that it no longer struck a true E.

The belfry also houses four quarter bells which play the Westminster Chimes, derived from Handel's Messiah, on the quarter hours. The C note in the chime is repeated twice in quick succession, faster than the chiming train can draw back the hammers, so the C bell uses two separate hammers.

1 Reliability

The Clock Tower at dusk, with The London EyeThe London Eye is, as of December 2003, the largest observation wheel in the world (though often erroneously called a Ferris wheel). It stands 135 metres (443 feet) high on the western end of Jubilee Gardens, on the South Bank of the River Thames in Lambe in the background.

The clock is famous for its reliability. This is due to its designer, the lawyer and amateur horologist Edmund Beckett DenisonSir Edmund Beckett Bt. 1st Baron Grimthorpe ( 1816- 1905), was a lawyer and amateur horologist and architect. In 1851 he designed the clock mechanism for the clock of the Palace of Westminster, responsible for the chimes of Big Ben. He was also responsibl, later Lord Grimthorpe. As the clock mechanism, created to Denison's specification by clockmaker Edward John Dent , was completed before the tower itself was finished, Denison had time to experiment with the clock. Instead of using the deadbeat escapement and remontoire as originally designed, Denison invented the double three legged gravity escapement . This escapementThe escapement drives the pendulum in a pendulum clock, usually from a gear train. The gear train is powered to provide energy into the pendulum, typically using springs or weights. Without the escapement the system would simply "unwind" immediately, but provides the best separation between pendulum and clock mechanism. Together with an enclosed, wind-proof box sunk beneath the clockroom, the Great Clock's pendulum is well isolated from external factors like snow, ice and pigeons on the clock hands, and keeps remarkably accurate time.

The clock had its first and only major breakdown in 1975Events January January 1 Watergate scandal: John N. Mitchell, H. Haldeman, John D. Ehrlichman are found guilty of the Watergate cover-up and are sentenced to 30 months to 8 years in jail on February 21 January 5 The Tasman Bridge in Tasmania, Australia, i. The famous quarter bells broke in late April 20042004 is a leap year starting on Thursday (the link is to a full 2004 calendar), and has also been designated the: International Year of Rice International Year to Commemorate the Struggle against Slavery and its Abolition Elections are to be held in 73 co, and were reactivated again on May 9May 9 is the 129th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (130th in leap years). There are 236 days remaining. Events 328 Athanasius elected bishop of Alexandria. 1092 Lincoln Cathedral is consecrated. 1429 Joan of Arc defeats the English troops besieg. During this time BBC Radio Four had to make do with the pips.

The idiom of putting a penny on, with the meaning of slowing down, sprung from the method of fine-tuning the clock's pendulum by adding or subtracting penny-coins. Even to this day, only old pennies, phased out of British currency during the 1971 Decimalization, are used.

A 20-foot metal replica of the clock tower known as Little Ben, complete with working clock, stands on a traffic island close to Victoria Station. Several turret clocks around the world are inspired by the look of the Great Clock, including the clock tower of the Gare de Lyon in Paris and the Peace Tower of the Parliament of Canada in Ottawa.

The Clock Tower - which contains Big Ben - Palace of Westminster, London