Big Ben

The clock tower of the Palace of Westminster is referred to by Londoners, and almost everyone else, as Big Ben, despite this name only referring to the clock’s great bell with its instantly recognisable chime. The tower itself was given the official name of ‘Elizabeth Tower’ in 2012, as part of the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee celebrations, before this the tower was known simply as Clock Tower.

Situated at the north end of the Palace of Westminster (Houses of Parliament) its image is often used to symbolise London and the United Kingdom. Designed by the architect Augustus Pugin, completed in 1858, and standing at 96 metres tall, it houses the largest 4-faced chiming clock in the world.