Big Ben, 150th Anniversary

May 31st, 2009  |  Published in General Awareness








clock_tower-bigben1Big Ben, London’s one of the most famous attractions is celebrating 150 years of keeping time.

The clock tower in Parliament Square, is being cleaned after a year of activities for the landmark, which started ticking on 31 May 1959.

Big Ben is the nickname for the great bell of the clock in St. Stephen’s Tower at the north-eastern end of the Palace of Westminster in London. The nickname is often also used to refer to the clock and the clock tower. This is the world’s largest four-faced, chiming clock and the third largest free-standing clock tower in the world.

The bell, cast in White chapel on 10 April 1858, was first rung in the Great Westminster Clock on 11 July 1859.

The clock tower and the new Palace of Westminster, designed by Charles Barry, were built after a fire destroyed much of the old Houses of Parliament in 1834.

Last year, Big Ben was named Britain’s favorite attraction in a poll of more than 2,000 adults.

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