The Big Ben by Aris Z

The Big Ben

ariszer13 — 2024-04-29 16:32:50 UTC

Big Ben is the common name for the Great Bell of the Great Clock of Westminster and by extension to the clock tower and the clock itself.The Great Clock of Westminster is a striking clock with five bells.

Where is it located?

ariszer13 — 2024-04-29 16:37:57 UTC

Big Ben is found in the Elizabeth Tower at the north end of The Houses of Parliament in Westminster, Central London, next to the river Thames.

How is it designed?

ariszer13 — 2024-04-29 16:41:32 UTC

Completed in 1859, the tower is designed in Pugin's Gothic Revival style and is 316 feet (96.3 m) high, making it the third tallest clock tower in the UK. Its dials (at the centre) are 180 feet (54.9 m) above ground level. The tower's base is square, measuring 40 feet (12.2 m) on each side,resting on concrete foundations 12 feet (3.7 m) thick. It was constructed using bricks clad on the exterior with sand-coloured Anston limestone from South Yorkshire, topped by a spire covered in hundreds of cast iron rooftiles. There is a spiral staircase with 290 stone steps up to the clock room, followed by 44 to reach the belfry, and an additional 59 to the top of the spire.

What is the Big Ben's history?

ariszer13 — 2024-04-29 16:43:28 UTC

Elizabeth Tower, originally named the Clock Tower, and popularly known as "Big Ben",was built as a part of Charles Barry's design for a new Palace of Westminster after the old palace was largely destroyed by fire on 16 October 1834.Although Barry was the chief architect of the neo-gothic palace, he turned to Augustus Pugin for the design of the Clock Tower, which resembles earlier Pugin designs, including one for Scarisbrick Hall in Lancashire. Construction of the tower began on 28 September 1843. The building contractors were Thomas Grissell and Morton Peto. An inscribed trowel in the Parliamentary Archives records that Emily, sister of Peto's daughter-in-law, was given the honour of laying the first stone. It was Pugin's last design before his descent into mental illness and death in 1852, and Pugin himself wrote, at the time of Barry's last visit to him to collect the drawings: "I never worked so hard in my life for Mr Barry for tomorrow I render all my designs for finishing his bell tower and it is beautiful".

What is it's cultural significance

ariszer13 — 2024-04-29 16:44:32 UTC

The clock has become a cultural symbol of the United Kingdom, particularly in the visual media. When a television or film-maker wishes to indicate a generic location in the country, a popular way to do so is to show an image of the tower, often with a red double-decker bus or black cab in the foreground.

Some interesting facts about the Big Ben

ariszer13 — 2024-04-29 16:46:54 UTC

The Clock Tower took over 15 years to build.
Big Ben is a marvel of Victorian engineering.
Big Ben miraculously survived World War II.
The bells of Big Ben chime a distinctive melody.