When was Big Ben built?

Big Ben was built in 1858. It is the bell that chimes the hours in the Clock Tower of the British Houses of Parliament, London, and is so called because Sir Benjamin Hall, as the Chief Commissioner of Works, was the minister responsible for its installation.

The famous deep, resonant boom of the bell is regularly broadcast by the BBC all over the world.

The way to Big Ben is up a spiral staircase of 374 steps. The Roman numerals on the clock face are two feet high and the pendulum is 13 feet long. Big Ben itself weighs 3 1/2 tons. When the clock was installed, two men used to wind it every week. Now it is wound by electricity.