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Big Ben, Westminster, since 1859

Big Ben: the bell, the clock and the tower everyone calls by the bell’s name.

Big Ben has struck the hours over Westminster since 1859, give or take a crack, a war, a breakdown and a five-year restoration. Here is the whole story: the bells and the Great Clock, the tower Charles Barry and Augustus Pugin designed, the 2017–22 restoration, visiting today and the myths, with every fact linked to its source.

Meet the bells The restoration

The top of the Elizabeth Tower against a blue sky after the restoration: two clock dials in Prussian blue and gold, golden stonework above and the belfry and spire on top
The Elizabeth Tower in 2023, with its restored blue and gold dials.Picture: Julian Herzog, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons (cropped and resized)

Big Ben or the Elizabeth Tower? Strictly, Big Ben is the Great Bell inside the tower, and the tower is the Elizabeth Tower. Most people say Big Ben for the lot, and so do we when it reads naturally. Where it matters, such as weights, dates and names, we say which one we mean.

96 mtall, the Elizabeth Tower UK Parliament, facts and figures
13.7 tBig Ben, the Great Bell (Parliament’s facts page) UK Parliament, facts and figures
334steps to the belfry UK Parliament, facts and figures
1,296pieces of glass in the four dials UK Parliament

The short version

Big Ben is, strictly, the nickname of the Great Bell. The tower’s official name was simply the Clock Tower, but people all over the world call the whole thing Big Ben after the bell. UK Parliament

On 25 June 2012 the House of Commons Commission renamed the Clock Tower the Elizabeth Tower, for Queen Elizabeth II’s Diamond Jubilee, after a campaign backed by MPs across the House. UK Parliament

The clock was installed in April 1859, once the building work was complete, and began keeping time on 31 May 1859. UK Parliament

Big Ben rang out for the first time on 11 July 1859. In September it cracked too, and for four years the largest quarter bell struck the hours instead. UK Parliament

Airy’s fix: turn the bell 90 degrees so the hammer hits a different spot, and fit a lighter hammer. A small square was cut out to stop the crack spreading. The crack and the hole are still visible. UK Parliament

How much Big Ben weighs, and how heavy the clock is, are two of several things Parliament’s own pages disagree on; the bells page and the clock page set them out side by side.

Wrapped in scaffolding from 2017 to 2022, the tower was repaired from the gilt cross and orb at the top to the foot of its 334-step staircase. UK Parliament

After five years, the bells returned to regular service in November 2022, following four days of tests. UK Parliament, 2022

UNESCO’s description of the World Heritage Site says the Palace, the clock tower and the sound of Big Ben have become internationally recognised symbols of Britain and democracy. UNESCO

The Elizabeth Tower lit up at night beside the Houses of Parliament, its four clock faces glowing, with the London Eye lit in purple behind
Big Ben by night, in November 2022.Picture: Diego Delso, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons (cropped and resized)
Seven centuries of clocks at Westminster, at a glance.Drawing: our own, simplified and not to scale

Explore

The storyFrom a medieval clock tower to the Elizabeth Tower. The bellsTwo cracked bells, a boxer, a tall MP and the note E. The Great ClockAccurate to a second, regulated with old pennies. The towerBarry, Pugin and a building that rose with no scaffolding. The restorationFive years, 1,296 panes of glass and a lot of blue paint. VisitingThe 334-step tour, tickets and what you see.

Tile pictures are credited on their pages and on the credits page.