Big Ben Clock Tower

The 'Big Ben' clock tower is the world's largest four-faced, chiming turret clock and is situated in the Houses of Parliament, in Westminster, London. It is commonly known simply as 'Big Ben' but this phase actually only refers to the main bell housed within the Clock Tower. The Clock Tower has also been referred to as St Stephen's Tower or The Tower of Big Ben or Big Tom. However, St Stephen's Tower is actually towards the middle of the building and is the main point of entry for attendees of debates and committees.

The tower was built after the old Palace of Westminster was destroyed by fire on the night of 16 October 1834 and was designed by a man called Charles Parry. The 96.3 metres high tower is designed in the Victorian Gothic style.

The first 61 metres of the structure is the Clock Tower, itself which consists of brickwork with stone cladding; the remainder of the tower's height is a framed spire of cast iron. The tower is founded on a 15 metre square raft, made of 3 metres of thick concrete. The four clock faces are 55 metres above ground. The tower actually leans slightly to the north-west.

The clock faces were once large enough to allow the Clock Tower to be the largest four-faced clock in the world, but have since been outdone by the Allen-Bradley Clock Tower in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The builders of the Allen-Bradley Clock Tower did not add chimes to the clock, so that Big Ben still holds the title of the 'world's largest four-faced chiming clock.' The clock mechanism itself was completed by 1854, but the tower was not fully constructed until four years later in 1858.

The main bell, officially known as the Great Bell, is the largest bell in the tower and part of the Great Clock of Westminster. It is this bell that is nicknamed 'Big Ben'.