Explore landmarks.im
big-ben.landmarks.im
Fact-check log

How every fact on this site was checked

168 facts. Each one is in our own words, each one has a source, and each one was checked against that source on 10 November 2026.

How we check

We read each source and wrote each fact in our own words. Our build stores the text of every source page, and for each fact it checks that the key words and figures, the “checks” in the table, really appear on the source page. If any check fails, the site does not build. Where good sources disagree, we show each version in a “Sources differ” box rather than picking one. Anything that is our own reading, rather than a sourced fact, is labelled Our opinion.

Known disagreements

What we left out

The log

#FactSourceChecks
1Big 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: How the clock tower has changed over the decades2 passed
2On 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: How the clock tower has changed over the decades2 passed
3Queen Victoria had a similar honour: the big tower at the southern end of the Palace, the royal entrance, is the Victoria Tower.UK Parliament: How the clock tower has changed over the decades2 passed
4The Elizabeth Tower is 96 metres tall, with 11 floors; Parliament compares it to 21 London buses stacked on top of each other.UK Parliament: Facts and figures, Big Ben and Elizabeth Tower2 passed
5It is 281 steps up to the clock faces and 334 to the belfry, where Big Ben hangs. Another 65 steps take you to the Ayrton Light.UK Parliament: Facts and figures, Big Ben and Elizabeth Tower2 passed
6The tower contains about 850 cubic metres of stone and 2,600 cubic metres of brick: Anston stone from Yorkshire, Clipsham stone from Rutland and Caen limestone from France.UK Parliament: Facts and figures, Big Ben and Elizabeth Tower4 passed
7For all its height, the tower stands on a footprint of only 12 metres square.UK Parliament: Saving Big Ben1 passed
8UNESCO’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 World Heritage Centre: Palace of Westminster and Westminster Abbey including Saint Margaret’s Church1 passed
9The Palace of Westminster, with Westminster Abbey and St Margaret’s Church, was inscribed as a World Heritage Site in 1987.UNESCO World Heritage Centre: Palace of Westminster and Westminster Abbey including Saint Margaret’s Church1 passed
10The Houses of Parliament, including the Elizabeth Tower, are a Grade I listed building, first listed on 5 February 1970 (list entry 1226284).Historic England: Houses of Parliament and the Palace of Westminster (list entry 1226284)4 passed
11Historic England’s list entry describes the clock tower at the end of New Palace Yard as virtually free-standing.Historic England: Houses of Parliament and the Palace of Westminster (list entry 1226284)1 passed
12A clock tower is said to have stood on the site in the 1290s, but there are no records of it.UK Parliament: A brief history of Big Ben and Elizabeth Tower1 passed
13In 1367 a new tower and clock were built; Parliament calls it the first public chiming clock in England.UK Parliament: A brief history of Big Ben and Elizabeth Tower2 passed
14In 1698 the medieval clock tower was pulled down and a sundial put up in its place.UK Parliament: A brief history of Big Ben and Elizabeth Tower1 passed
15Its old bell was sent to St Paul’s Cathedral in 1699 and broke on the way.UK Parliament: A brief history of Big Ben and Elizabeth Tower1 passed
16Recast in 1716, that bell later hung in the south-west tower of St Paul’s, and if Big Ben is ever unable to strike, the St Paul’s bell is heard instead.UK Parliament: A brief history of Big Ben and Elizabeth Tower2 passed
17The old Palace of Westminster was almost completely burned down in 1834. Only Westminster Hall, St Stephen’s Cloister and the Chapel of St Mary Undercroft survived much as they were.UK Parliament: Designing a New Palace of Westminster2 passed
18In June 1835 a public competition was held to design a new palace in Gothic or Elizabethan style. There were 97 entries, and the Royal Commission chose entry number 64 unanimously.UK Parliament: Designing a New Palace of Westminster3 passed
19Entry 64 was by the architect Charles Barry. It had two towers: a grand royal entrance to the south and a smaller clock tower to the north.UK Parliament: Designing a New Palace of Westminster2 passed
20Barry may have been inspired by old engravings that showed a clock tower standing in New Palace Yard in medieval times.UK Parliament: Designing a New Palace of Westminster1 passed
21The clock tower in Barry’s original proposal was not the 96-metre tower we know.UK Parliament: Designing a New Palace of Westminster1 passed
22Barry took inspiration from a clock tower at Scarisbrick Hall in Lancashire, designed by Augustus Welby Pugin, a young Gothic Revival architect who became Barry’s collaborator on the decorative details.UK Parliament: Designing a New Palace of Westminster2 passed
23Under Pugin’s influence the clock tower grew in size and importance, with large clock dials under a tall, two-stage spire.UK Parliament: Designing a New Palace of Westminster2 passed
24Pugin added the symbols of the four parts of the United Kingdom, the leek, thistle, rose and shamrock, alongside the Tudor portcullis and fleur-de-lys.UK Parliament: Designing a New Palace of Westminster1 passed
25The portcullis, used all over the new palace, became the emblem of both the House of Commons and the House of Lords.UK Parliament: Designing a New Palace of Westminster1 passed
26The tower designs were Pugin’s last important set of drawings. He died in 1852, aged only 40, and never saw the finished tower.UK Parliament: Designing a New Palace of Westminster2 passed
27As he worked, Pugin wrote: “I never worked so hard in my life for Mr Barry for tomorrow I render all the designs for finishing his bell tower and it is beautiful.”UK Parliament: Designing a New Palace of Westminster1 passed
28Building the new palace began in 1840, and Barry brought in Pugin to help with its Gothic Revival style.UK Parliament: A brief history of Big Ben and Elizabeth Tower2 passed
29Historic England dates the new palace to 1835–60, by Sir Charles Barry, with detailing, interiors and furnishings by A. W. N. Pugin.Historic England: Houses of Parliament and the Palace of Westminster (list entry 1226284)1 passed
30UNESCO notes that Westminster Abbey inspired Barry’s and Pugin’s Gothic Revival work on the palace.UNESCO World Heritage Centre: Palace of Westminster and Westminster Abbey including Saint Margaret’s Church1 passed
31The foundation stone of the clock tower was laid on 28 September 1843.UK Parliament: Building Elizabeth Tower1 passed
32Materials came from all over: bricks from Hendon in Middlesex, stone from Anston near Sheffield, paving from Hopton Wood in Derbyshire, slate from the Preseli Hills in Pembrokeshire, and stone for the interior from Caen in Normandy.UK Parliament: Building Elizabeth Tower2 passed
33Anston stone was chosen because it was cheaper, could be carved more elaborately, and was close to the Chesterfield Canal for transport to London.UK Parliament news: The Yorkshire foundry supporting Big Ben’s most complex restoration (14 July 2021)1 passed
34The tower was built from the inside out: Londoners watched it rise with no workmen or materials in sight.UK Parliament: Building Elizabeth Tower2 passed
35Steam-powered winches lifted materials up a shaft inside the tower, so no scaffolding was needed; a gantry on top was jacked up as the tower grew.UK Parliament: Building Elizabeth Tower2 passed
36Sixty-one metres of brickwork faced with sand-coloured Anston stone went up before the two-tier iron spire was added.UK Parliament: Building Elizabeth Tower1 passed
37Inside there was a stone spiral staircase in one corner, an air shaft to bring fresh air to the palace, and a weight shaft for the clock in the centre.UK Parliament: Building Elizabeth Tower3 passed
38Low down there were rooms for prisoners, meaning MPs who broke the rules of the House of Commons, with document stores above.UK Parliament: Building Elizabeth Tower3 passed
39Grissell and Peto built the tower up to the level of the clock dials; John Jay of London built the dials and roof section.UK Parliament: Building Elizabeth Tower2 passed
40Jabez James of Lambeth made the roof ironwork, the great frame for the five bells and the four cast-iron dials. John Hardman of Birmingham did cast-iron details on the roof, and F. Crace & Son painted and gilded.UK Parliament: Building Elizabeth Tower3 passed
41Building fell five years behind schedule, and Parliament moved into its new home before the tower was finished. From foundation stone to the first bells took sixteen years.UK Parliament: Building Elizabeth Tower2 passed
42Barry was no clock specialist. He first asked Benjamin Lewis Vulliamy, the Queen’s Clockmaker, but other clockmakers such as Edward John Dent wanted the job, and disputes broke out.UK Parliament: Constructing the most accurate clock in the world3 passed
43In 1846 a competition was held to decide who would build the clock, refereed by the Astronomer Royal, Sir George Airy.UK Parliament: Constructing the most accurate clock in the world2 passed
44Airy wanted the most accurate turret clock in the world: the first stroke of each hour had to be right to within one second.UK Parliament: Constructing the most accurate clock in the world1 passed
45Until then, time had largely gone by the sun, so it varied by about 15 minutes across Britain.UK Parliament: Constructing the most accurate clock in the world1 passed
46The accuracy rules meant it took seven years before the designs were finalised.UK Parliament: A brief history of Big Ben and Elizabeth Tower1 passed
47The winning designs, in February 1852, were by Edmund Beckett Denison, a lawyer and amateur clock expert, so the chronometer maker Edward John Dent was appointed to build the clock.UK Parliament: Constructing the most accurate clock in the world2 passed
48The mechanism took two years to make and cost £2,500, which Parliament puts at about £285,000 today.UK Parliament: Constructing the most accurate clock in the world1 passed
49The clock mechanism was completed in 1854, years before the tower was ready for it.UK Parliament: A brief history of Big Ben and Elizabeth Tower1 passed
50The clock was installed in April 1859, once the building work was complete, and began keeping time on 31 May 1859.UK Parliament: Constructing the most accurate clock in the world1 passed
51To check it, the time from the Royal Observatory at Greenwich was sent to Westminster by telegraph wire. The clock passed.UK Parliament: Constructing the most accurate clock in the world2 passed
52There are four clock dials, each made of 324 pieces of pot opal glass in a cast-iron frame. Parliament’s facts page gives the dials as 7 metres across, with hour figures 60 centimetres long.UK Parliament: Facts and figures, Big Ben and Elizabeth Tower4 passed
53Parliament’s tour page says each dial spans 6.9 metres in diameter.UK Parliament: Big Ben tours (visiting page, read 10 November 2026)1 passed
54The minute hands are copper sheet, 4.2 metres long and 100 kilograms each. They travel about 190 kilometres a year, roughly London to Weymouth.UK Parliament: Facts and figures, Big Ben and Elizabeth Tower4 passed
55The hour hands are gunmetal, 2.7 metres long and three times heavier, at 300 kilograms.UK Parliament: Facts and figures, Big Ben and Elizabeth Tower2 passed
56Four o’clock is shown as IV, not the IIII found on many clocks.UK Parliament: Great Clock facts (archived copy, November 2021)1 passed
57Each beat of the pendulum lasts two seconds.UK Parliament: Facts and figures, Big Ben and Elizabeth Tower1 passed
58The clock is fine-tuned with pre-decimal pennies: adding one makes the clock gain two-fifths of a second in 24 hours.UK Parliament: Facts and figures, Big Ben and Elizabeth Tower2 passed
59Wind on the huge hands could upset the timekeeping, so Denison designed the ‘Double Three-legged Gravity Escapement’, which compensates for outside forces on the mechanism.UK Parliament: Facts and figures, Big Ben and Elizabeth Tower2 passed
60Parliament’s facts page says the mechanism weighs 5 tonnes, is made of cast iron, and is 4.7 metres long and 1.4 metres wide.UK Parliament: Facts and figures, Big Ben and Elizabeth Tower1 passed
61The same page gives the pendulum as 4.4 metres long and 310 kilograms, with a 203-kilogram bob made of concentric steel and zinc tubes.UK Parliament: Facts and figures, Big Ben and Elizabeth Tower2 passed
62In 1930 an MP complained that Big Ben was three minutes slow compared with every other clock. The minister replied that in 290 days the error had passed one second on only eight, and that “all the others are wrong and that Big Ben is right”.UK Parliament: How the clock tower has changed over the decades3 passed
63The Great Clock was the largest and most accurate clock in the world when it was built, and it is still the biggest striking and chiming turret clock in the UK.UK Parliament: Conserving a clocktower in the middle of a working Parliament1 passed
64Parliament lists some long Great Clock stoppages: two months in 1934, six months in 1956, and six weeks in 2007, the longest since 1990. In 2005 it stopped for two days so the brake shaft could be inspected.UK Parliament: Facts and figures, Big Ben and Elizabeth Tower4 passed
65On 5 August 1976 a mechanical failure badly damaged the clock: the weights spiralled out of control down the weight shaft and the mechanism blew apart. Big Ben was silent for nearly nine months, back in time for the Queen’s Silver Jubilee visit to Westminster Hall in May 1977.UK Parliament: A brief history of Big Ben and Elizabeth Tower3 passed
66In 2007 Big Ben and the quarter bells were silenced from 11 August to 1 October for maintenance on the clock.UK Parliament: A brief history of Big Ben and Elizabeth Tower1 passed
67There are more than 2,000 clocks on the Parliamentary Estate, and Parliament’s clock mechanics change them all, the Great Clock included, when the clocks go forward and back.UK Parliament news: Changing the time on Big Ben (22 March 2021)2 passed
68Barry’s plan needed bells: a Great Bell to strike the hours and four smaller quarter bells to chime every fifteen minutes.UK Parliament: Constructing the most accurate clock in the world2 passed
69John Warner’s foundry near Stockton-on-Tees cast the first Great Bell in August 1856, and his firm cast the four quarter bells at Cripplegate in London later that year.UK Parliament: Constructing the most accurate clock in the world2 passed
70The bell was originally to be called ‘Royal Victoria’.UK Parliament: A brief history of Big Ben and Elizabeth Tower1 passed
71The new bell came by rail and sea and was pulled across Westminster Bridge by 16 white horses.UK Parliament: Constructing the most accurate clock in the world1 passed
72On 22 October 1856 The Times reported that the bell had arrived and that it was proposed to call it “Big Ben” in honour of Sir Benjamin Hall, then in charge of public works.Word Histories: the story of the two Big Bens (quoting The Times, 22 October 1856)2 passed
73Benjamin Hall (1802–67) was a Welsh politician and civil engineer, First Commissioner of Works from 1855 to 1858.Word Histories: the story of the two Big Bens (quoting The Times, 22 October 1856)1 passed
74Parliament says the bell was probably named after Sir Benjamin Hall in fun, because he was a tall man.UK Parliament: Constructing the most accurate clock in the world3 passed
75Another theory links the name to the bare-knuckle boxing champion Ben Caunt, also known as ‘Big Ben’; HISTORY calls Hall the most likely source.HISTORY (A&E): How did Big Ben get its name?2 passed
76Hall’s name is inscribed on the bell.HISTORY (A&E): How did Big Ben get its name?1 passed
77In December 1856 the first test hammer, tried in New Palace Yard, was described as weighing “nearly, or quite, a half ton”.Word Histories: the story of the two Big Bens (quoting The Times, 22 October 1856)2 passed
78Denison wanted the loudest sound possible and used a huge hammer. The bell was tested daily until 17 October 1857, when a crack 1.2 metres long appeared. The hammer was too heavy.UK Parliament: Constructing the most accurate clock in the world3 passed
79Warners, who made the bell, and Denison, who designed the clock, argued over who was to blame.UK Parliament: A brief history of Big Ben and Elizabeth Tower1 passed
80The cracked bell was melted down and recast by George Mears at the Whitechapel Bell Foundry on 10 April 1858. That second bell is the one in the tower today.UK Parliament: Constructing the most accurate clock in the world2 passed
81Parliament’s clock-history page says the new bell weighed 13.5 tonnes, 2.5 tonnes lighter than the first.UK Parliament: Constructing the most accurate clock in the world1 passed
82To get it into the belfry, the bell was turned on its side and winched up the ventilation shaft. It took 30 hours.UK Parliament: Constructing the most accurate clock in the world2 passed
83Big 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: Constructing the most accurate clock in the world3 passed
84Airy’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: Constructing the most accurate clock in the world3 passed
85The fix was made in 1863, and Big Ben struck the hours again.UK Parliament: A brief history of Big Ben and Elizabeth Tower2 passed
86Parliament’s facts page gives Big Ben’s weight as 13.7 tonnes, with a 200-kilogram hammer.UK Parliament: Facts and figures, Big Ben and Elizabeth Tower1 passed
87Parliament’s 2017 announcement also gives 13.7 tonnes, and says the bell strikes the hour on the note E.UK Parliament news: Big Ben to fall silent while essential conservation works take place (14 August 2017)1 passed
88None of the bells swings. They hang fixed and are struck from outside by hammers, not by clappers inside.UK Parliament: Facts and figures, Big Ben and Elizabeth Tower1 passed
89The quarter bells weigh 1.1, 1.3, 1.7 and 4 tonnes.UK Parliament: Facts and figures, Big Ben and Elizabeth Tower4 passed
90The notes: Big Ben is E; the quarter bells are G, F sharp, E and B.UK Parliament: Facts and figures, Big Ben and Elizabeth Tower4 passed
91Denison chose the tune for the quarter bells: the ‘Cambridge Quarters’, from the church of Great St Mary’s in Cambridge.UK Parliament: Constructing the most accurate clock in the world1 passed
92Struck by the lighter hammer, the Great Bell gives what Parliament calls a soulful E.UK Parliament: Constructing the most accurate clock in the world1 passed
93BBC Radio first broadcast the chimes across the UK on New Year’s Eve 1923, and in 1932 the Empire Service carried them abroad for the first time, in King George V’s Christmas broadcast.UK Parliament: A brief history of Big Ben and Elizabeth Tower3 passed
94The hour bell has been tolled slowly to mark the deaths of four sovereigns: Edward VII, George V, George VI and Elizabeth II. For Sir Winston Churchill’s funeral, the bells were silent as a mark of respect.UK Parliament: How the clock tower has changed over the decades3 passed
95Acton Smee Ayrton, First Commissioner of Works from 1869 to 1873, had the idea of a light near the top of the tower to show when the House was sitting.UK Parliament: How the clock tower has changed over the decades2 passed
96Parliament’s history page says the permanent Ayrton Light was installed in 1892 by J. Edmundson & Co., using a Wigham lighthouse lamp, and was first lit by gas.UK Parliament: How the clock tower has changed over the decades2 passed
97A 2021 Parliament news story describes the Ayrton Light as a lantern-like structure installed in 1885, which shines whenever either House sits after dark.UK Parliament news: Restoring the Ayrton Light (3 June 2021)1 passed
98The light is said to have been put there at Queen Victoria’s request, so she could see from Buckingham Palace when Parliament was sitting after dark.UK Parliament news: Restoring the Ayrton Light (3 June 2021)1 passed
99The Ayrton Light went electric in 1903, and the dial lighting changed from gas to electricity in 1906.UK Parliament: How the clock tower has changed over the decades1 passed
100From 1939 to 1945 the dial lights and the Ayrton Light were switched off, so the tower could not help German bombers find their way.UK Parliament: How the clock tower has changed over the decades2 passed
101The Palace was hit by bombs 14 times. On 10–11 May 1941 a small bomb hit the clock tower and broke all the glass in the south dial, but the clock and bells were undamaged and the chimes were broadcast as usual.UK Parliament: How the clock tower has changed over the decades3 passed
102Broadcast on the radio, the bells became a symbol of freedom during the Second World War.UK Parliament: How the clock tower has changed over the decades1 passed
103Decades later, modern surveys found fractures and structural damage that could not be detected with the methods of the 1940s and 1950s.UK Parliament: How the clock tower has changed over the decades1 passed
104Before 2017 the tower had been wrapped in scaffolding for repairs three times: in the 1930s, 1950s and 1980s.UK Parliament: How the clock tower has changed over the decades2 passed
105By the 2010s the tower had the problems of any building its age: crumbling stone, rusty ironwork, leaking roofs and an ageing clock.UK Parliament: Saving Big Ben1 passed
106The last big repairs had been in 1983–85.UK Parliament: Saving Big Ben1 passed
107Pollution had badly damaged the stone, and the black paint around the dials had stopped the stonework from breathing.UK Parliament: Saving Big Ben2 passed
108Wrapped 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: Conservation of Elizabeth Tower and Big Ben1 passed
109The project was separate from the wider Restoration and Renewal programme for the Palace, because a feasibility study showed the tower could not wait.UK Parliament: Saving Big Ben2 passed
110Parliament announced that the bongs would sound for the last time before the works at noon on Monday 21 August 2017.UK Parliament news: Big Ben to fall silent while essential conservation works take place (14 August 2017)1 passed
111Parliament said Big Ben had marked the hour with almost unbroken service for 157 years.UK Parliament news: Big Ben to fall silent while essential conservation works take place (14 August 2017)1 passed
112After concerns from a number of MPs, the House of Commons Commission said it would consider how long the bells would be silent.UK Parliament news: Big Ben to fall silent while essential conservation works take place (14 August 2017)1 passed
113The bongs stopped after the 12 noon chimes on 21 August 2017; the striking was paused to protect the people working in the tower.UK Parliament: Conserving a clocktower in the middle of a working Parliament2 passed
114Parliament’s clock mechanics still made sure Big Ben could strike for New Year’s Eve and Remembrance Sunday.UK Parliament: Conserving a clocktower in the middle of a working Parliament1 passed
115One clock face was kept visible at all times so people could still set their watches by it.UK Parliament news: Big Ben to fall silent while essential conservation works take place (14 August 2017)1 passed
116From 2017 an electric motor drove the hands on the visible dial while the real mechanism was away.UK Parliament news: Changing the time on Big Ben (22 March 2021)1 passed
117The contract went to Sir Robert McAlpine Ltd in September 2017.UK Parliament news: Elizabeth Tower contract awarded (29 September 2017)2 passed
118It took six months to put up one of the most complex scaffolds in British history. It was free-standing, built around the tower without touching the stonework.UK Parliament: Conserving a clocktower in the middle of a working Parliament3 passed
119A note to the Commons Finance Committee calls it the largest free-standing scaffold in Europe.House of Commons Finance Committee: note on the Elizabeth Tower refurbishment project1 passed
120Once the scaffolding was up, it soon became clear that the damage was much worse than expected.UK Parliament: Conserving a clocktower in the middle of a working Parliament1 passed
121The survey found decayed carvings, asbestos in the belfry, extensive toxic lead paint and broken glass in the dials.BBC News: Big Ben, cost of repairing Elizabeth Tower rises by £18.6m (February 2020)4 passed
122Replacement stone came from a quarry near Doncaster, and each new piece took a stonemason at least two weeks to carve by hand with traditional tools.UK Parliament: Conserving a clocktower in the middle of a working Parliament2 passed
123By early 2020, 700 stone repairs had been needed, 300 more than first estimated.BBC News: Big Ben, cost of repairing Elizabeth Tower rises by £18.6m (February 2020)2 passed
124The Finance Committee note says the stonework turned out to be more than four times what had been allowed for.House of Commons Finance Committee: note on the Elizabeth Tower refurbishment project1 passed
125Wartime bomb damage had hurt the roof’s cast-iron frame. All 3,343 pieces of the roof were taken off to a workshop, and new pieces were cast by hand at a foundry in Halifax.UK Parliament: Conserving a clocktower in the middle of a working Parliament2 passed
126That foundry was Hargreaves Foundry, and its ‘HF’ stamp can be seen on metalwork across the tower.UK Parliament news: The Yorkshire foundry supporting Big Ben’s most complex restoration (14 July 2021)2 passed
127All 1,296 pieces of glass in the four dials were replaced with mouth-blown pot opal glass, cut and fitted by hand by stained-glass specialists from South London.UK Parliament: Conserving a clocktower in the middle of a working Parliament3 passed
128For the first time in its history the clock was dismantled, winched 53 metres down and taken away for a complete overhaul. Parliament’s conservation page calls it the 12-tonne clock.UK Parliament: Conserving a clocktower in the middle of a working Parliament1 passed
129The automatic winding mechanism fitted in 1912, parts of which were thought lost, was rebuilt.UK Parliament: Conserving a clocktower in the middle of a working Parliament1 passed
130In 2019 Parliament described the clock mechanism being taken apart as the 11-tonne mechanism.UK Parliament news: Big Ben celebrates 160th birthday as conservation continues (9 July 2019)1 passed
131The bell itself stayed where it was: Big Ben remained in the tower throughout the works.UK Parliament news: Big Ben celebrates 160th birthday as conservation continues (9 July 2019)1 passed
132The Cumbria Clock Company restored more than 1,000 clock parts at its workshop in Dacre, near Penrith. It was the first time the whole mechanism had left the tower.UK Parliament news: Meet the Cumbria clock experts who are helping to restore Big Ben (16 November 2021)3 passed
133The company said the parts together weigh eleven and a half tonnes, and gave the pendulum as 170 kilograms.UK Parliament news: Meet the Cumbria clock experts who are helping to restore Big Ben (16 November 2021)2 passed
134Neither Denison nor Dent kept detailed records of how the clock was built, so the company produced the first user manual and engineering drawings of the mechanism.UK Parliament news: Meet the Cumbria clock experts who are helping to restore Big Ben (16 November 2021)2 passed
135For two years the clock’s ‘heartbeat’, its timekeeping side, ticked away on test in the company’s workshop.UK Parliament news: Meet the Cumbria clock experts who are helping to restore Big Ben (16 November 2021)1 passed
136The Finance Committee note says it had been assumed Parliament’s own clock mechanics would do the clock work, but they did not have the capacity; the change cost about £2 million.House of Commons Finance Committee: note on the Elizabeth Tower refurbishment project3 passed
137Every piece of the Ayrton Light was taken down and restored by Shepley Engineers in Sheffield.UK Parliament news: Restoring the Ayrton Light (3 June 2021)2 passed
138Paint experts from the University of Lincoln analysed more than 160 years of paint on the tower and found six different colour schemes.UK Parliament: Turning Big Ben’s clock dials blue2 passed
139The familiar black around the dials was probably chosen in the 1930s to hide the effects of pollution.UK Parliament: Turning Big Ben’s clock dials blue1 passed
140The restored dials and hands are Prussian blue and gold, as in Barry’s design, with the red, white and blue of the Union flag around them.UK Parliament: Turning Big Ben’s clock dials blue1 passed
141Above each dial a row of six shields shows St George’s red cross on white again.UK Parliament: Turning Big Ben’s clock dials blue1 passed
142On the roof, the shamrock and leek are green again, the thistle green with a purple head, and the rose red and white.UK Parliament: Turning Big Ben’s clock dials blue2 passed
143The regilded areas closely match those first gilded in 1859.UK Parliament: Turning Big Ben’s clock dials blue1 passed
144The North Dial was the first finished, in 2019, in the original Prussian blue and gilt.UK Parliament news: Big Ben celebrates 160th birthday as conservation continues (9 July 2019)1 passed
145The original hands came back in 2021, three years after they were taken down for conservation.UK Parliament news: Count down to completion, installing the restored clock hands (14 July 2021)2 passed
146New work included a lift for maintenance and emergency access, and LED lighting, including in the Ayrton Light.UK Parliament: Saving Big Ben2 passed
147A glass box at the top of the stairs now gives visitors a much better view of Big Ben and the quarter bells.UK Parliament: Saving Big Ben1 passed
148More than 500 people from across the UK worked on the project, in trades from stone masonry and glass blowing to gilding, plastering, cast iron and clock mechanics.UK Parliament: Big Ben tours (visiting page, read 10 November 2026)2 passed
149Big Ben’s official return came at 11 am on Remembrance Sunday, 13 November 2022, striking eleven times for the Two Minutes’ Silence.UK Parliament news: Big Ben to resume striking on Remembrance Sunday 2022 (1 November 2022)2 passed
150After five years, the bells returned to regular service in November 2022, following four days of tests.UK Parliament news: Big Ben returns to regular service (15 November 2022)2 passed
151At that point the outside was finished, and the main contractor was to stay on site until December 2022, with visitors expected back inside in 2023.UK Parliament news: Big Ben returns to regular service (15 November 2022)3 passed
152Parliament’s key-dates page says the conservation was completed in 2022.UK Parliament: A brief history of Big Ben and Elizabeth Tower1 passed
153The Finance Committee note gives the actual project completion as October 2023, including nine months of Covid impact.House of Commons Finance Committee: note on the Elizabeth Tower refurbishment project1 passed
154In 2019 the project was due to finish in 2021.UK Parliament news: Big Ben celebrates 160th birthday as conservation continues (9 July 2019)1 passed
155In spring 2016 the feasibility study estimated £29 million. By September 2017 the estimate was £61 million, including VAT, risk allowances and £4.5 million of fire-protection work moved in from another project.UK Parliament news: Elizabeth Tower contract awarded (29 September 2017)2 passed
156In February 2020 the budget rose by £18.6 million to £79.7 million, after the discovery of bomb damage and asbestos.BBC News: Big Ben, cost of repairing Elizabeth Tower rises by £18.6m (February 2020)2 passed
157A further £9 million was set aside for the effects of Covid-19, including a four-month site closure in 2020.UK Parliament written answer UIN 96953: Big Ben, repairs and maintenance (answered 11 January 2022)2 passed
158The Finance Committee note gives a total approved budget of £89 million and a final outturn cost, including Covid, of £85.5 million.House of Commons Finance Committee: note on the Elizabeth Tower refurbishment project2 passed
159The design consultant was Purcell Architecture and the main contractor Sir Robert McAlpine.House of Commons Finance Committee: note on the Elizabeth Tower refurbishment project2 passed
160Ian Westworth, one of Parliament’s clock mechanics: “This was the first time the Great Clock has been taken apart fully so we can assess and repair every wheel and pinion.”UK Parliament: The people who conserved Big Ben2 passed
161The official tour climbs the 334-step spiral stair to the belfry. You see the clock mechanism, stand beside Big Ben as it strikes the hour, and step behind a dial.UK Parliament: Big Ben tours (visiting page, read 10 November 2026)2 passed
162Tickets are released three months ahead, on the second Wednesday of each month at 10 am.UK Parliament: Big Ben tours (visiting page, read 10 November 2026)1 passed
163For tours from 1 August 2026, tickets are £55 for adults and £35 for children aged 11 to 17, with up to eight tickets per booking.UK Parliament: Big Ben tours (visiting page, read 10 November 2026)2 passed
164Visitors must be 11 or over and comfortable climbing 334 steps with loud bells and machinery; ear defenders are provided.UK Parliament: Big Ben tours (visiting page, read 10 November 2026)2 passed
165The tour lasts up to 90 minutes, with planned pauses on the way up.UK Parliament: Big Ben tours (visiting page, read 10 November 2026)2 passed
166Accessible tours are available for visitors who would find parts of the standard tour difficult.UK Parliament: Big Ben tours (visiting page, read 10 November 2026)1 passed
167After the tour, visitors can explore medieval Westminster Hall.UK Parliament: Big Ben tours (visiting page, read 10 November 2026)1 passed
168From outside, look up: the Ayrton Light shines whenever either House is sitting.UK Parliament news: Big Ben returns to regular service (15 November 2022)1 passed