Elizabeth Tower

The Elizabeth Tower, formerly known simply as the Clock Tower, and popularly known as Big Ben, the name of the great bell within the tower itself, is a four-faced clock tower that sits adjoined to the Palace of Westminster in London, England.

History[edit | edit source]

Construction of the clock tower began in 1844 under the direction of architect Charles Barry, who was hired to rebuild the Palace of Westminster after its destruction in a fire,^[1] and was completed in 1859.^[2] The clock itself was designed by Lewis Vulliamy, who was personally enlisted by Barry due to his reputation as clockmaker.^[1]

The exact origins of the "Big Ben" nickname are unclear, with the two most likely theories proposing that the nickname was derived from either Sir Benjamin Hall or the "Big Bens", a name given to heavyweight fighters during the Victorian era.^[1]

In 1868, the tower was scaled by the Assassin Evie Frye in order to repair the telegraph lines that ran through the building.^[3] One of the Frye twins scaled the Elizabeth Tower a second time later that year, when it was discovered that Templars from Boston had planted explosives throughout the Palace of Westminster, including one at the top of the clock tower.^[4]

In 2012, to commemorate her Diamond Jubilee,^[2] the clock tower was officially renamed the "Elizabeth Tower" after the reigning monarch at the time, Queen Elizabeth II.^[1]