Big Ben Facts :
• Many people refer to the Clock Tower as Big Ben, but it is in fact the bell that has this name. The tower is called Elizabeth Tower, named after Queen Elizabeth II to mark her Diamond Jubilee in 2012.
• The tower stands at 316 feet tall, with eleven floors to climb - there are 334 steps from the ground floor to the belfry.
• It was completed in 1859, during the reign of Queen Victoria, making it 165 years old this year.
• Big Ben, the largest bell, is officially known as “the Great Bell”.
• Each clock face is 22.5 feet in diameter, and each contain 324 pieces of opalescent glass.
• There are actually five bells in the tower - the big one which does the bongs, and then four quarter bells which sound the iconic chimes.
• There are lyrics which you can sing along to the chimes, which were based on Psalm 37: “All through this hour, Lord be my guide, And by Thy power, no foot shall slide.”
• To this day, to help the clock stay on time, a stack of pre-decimal pennies is placed on the pendulum. The clock is also wound by hand three times a week.
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