Unlocking Big Ben: The Secrets Inside London's Famous Clock Tower

Towering over the River Thames in London, one of the world's most recognizable landmarks looms against the skyline. Millions of visitors photograph its ornate stone spire and glowing clock faces each year, routinely pointing upward and exclaiming, "Look at Big Ben!" However, almost every tourist who makes this declaration gets the facts slightly wrong. To horologists—people who study timekeeping devices—and architectural historians, "Big Ben" is not the magnificent Gothic tower, nor is it the enormous clock with four dials. Big Ben is strictly the nickname of the massive, thirteen-ton bronze bell hanging deep inside the belfry near the tower's peak.

To understand how this monumental timekeeper came to be, one must look back to the night of October 16, 1834, when a catastrophic fire consumed the ancient Palace of Westminster, the home of the British Parliament. Following the disaster, a design competition was held to construct a grand replacement. Architect Charles Barry won the contract, teaming up with Augustus Pugin to design a sprawling masterpiece in the Gothic Revival style. Pugin was responsible for designing the intricate, ninety-six-meter spire that would house a clock worthy of the British Empire. Originally called simply the Clock Tower, the structure was officially renamed the Elizabeth Tower in 2012 to honor Queen Elizabeth II during her Diamond Jubilee.