It was completed in 1859 and stands 316 feet – or 96 meters – tall. Give up? It’s Big Ben – the massive clock tower in London, England! Actually, Big Ben is the large bell INSIDE the tower, but most people now call the tower “Big Ben,” too!īig Ben, the tower, is one of the most iconic – or recognizable – landmarks in the world, just like the Eiffel Tower in Paris, the Great Sphynx of Giza in Egypt, or the Statue of Liberty in New York. It has appeared in many films, including Peter Pan, the Great Mouse Detective, Young Sherlock Holmes, and A Christmas Carol. Need some more hints? Well, it has been around for over 150 years and has been seen by millions of people but is not alive. What is over 300 feet tall, has a pointy cap, eight hands, and four faces? Did you guess a monster, a space creature, or a huge robot? Nope, guess again. though this is rare the last recorded case was 1880.Do you like riddles? I know I do and I have a tricky one for you today.There are even cells within the clock tower where Members of Parliament can be imprisoned for a breach of parliamentary privilege, a welcome reassurance of hope to all who heard it.continued to keep time and strike away the hours, its unique sound was broadcast to the nation and around the world,.The BBC first broadcast the chimes on the 31st December 1923- there is a microphone in the turret connected to Broadcasting House.ĭuring the second world war in 1941, an incendiary bomb destroyed the Commons chamber of the Houses of Parliament, but the clock tower remained intact and Big Ben.Before returning to Westminster to hang in its present home, it was refashioned in Whitechapel in 1858.This bell came originally from the bold Palace of Westminster, it was given to the Dean of St. The bell was named after first commissioner of works, Sir Benjamin Hall.The name Big Ben actually refers not to the clock-tower it self, but to the thirteen ton bell hung within. Minutely regulated with a stack of coins placed on the huge pendulum, Big Ben is an excellent timekeeper, which has rarely stopped.The four dials of the clock are 23 feet square, the minute hand is 14 feet long and the figures are 2 feet high. spectacular at night when parliament is in session, because a light shines above the clock face.The Clock Tower is a turret clock structure at the north-eastern end of the Houses of Parliament building in London.īig Ben is one of London's best-known landmarks, and looks most.Created by: Moiseev Aleck EmelyanovTimofey Big Ben

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