Big Ben

Big Ben is the nickname for the great bell of the clock at the north end of London’s Palace of Westminster, but most people extend this to the clock tower too!

153 years old, Big Ben is the largest four faced chiming clock in the world, and the third tallest free standing clock tower. It is an icon, of London and the UK.

Big Ben was designed by the lawyer and amateur horologist Edmund Beckett Denison and George Airy, the Astronomer Royal and it was constructed by Edward John Dent, and following his death in 1853, his stepson Frederick Dent.

The clock and dials were designed by Augustus Pugin, they are set in an iron frame, and 312 pieces of opal glass. The surround is gilded, and inscribed with: “DOMINE SALVAM FAC REGINAM NOSTRAM VICTORIAM PRIMAM,” which translates to: “Oh Lord, keep safe our Queen Victoria the First.”

Important not only to Londoners, Big Ben has been featured in many films and TV programmes and at the opening of many news bulletins.

Do you agree that Big Ben is the UK’s most iconic landmark?

Image Credit: Graziano