# Big Ben

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Canonical page: https://mytuur.com/en/city/london/spot/big-ben/

Content updated: 2026-06-22

Big Ben is the nickname for the huge bell inside London’s Elizabeth Tower, part of the Palace of Westminster. The large bell weighs about 13.5 tonnes in total. One popular account links the name Big Ben with Sir Benjamin Hall, a chief commissioner of works. The former Clock Tower became Elizabeth Tower in 2012. Fire destroyed much of the old Palace of Westminster in 1834, prompting construction that began in 1843. Work on the tower finished in 1859. The structure rises about 96 metres above London and houses four detailed clock faces. Each clock face contains 324 pieces of pot opal glass. Together, the four faces use 1,292 glass pieces held within cast iron frames. Five bells fill the tower, with Big Ben striking hourly and four quarter bells sounding between hours. External hammers strike all five fixed bells. The Ayrton Light at the summit shines whenever Parliament sits in the Palace of Westminster. During the Second World War, bombs destroyed the Commons Chamber while Elizabeth Tower suffered only minor damage. Big Ben continued chiming throughout that wartime damage. Three hundred ninety-nine steps lead to the top, passing the clock faces, bell and Ayrton Light. The tower connects engineering, Parliament and London history in one visible landmark.

- City: [Greater London](https://mytuur.com/en/city/london/)

## Photos

- ![](https://mytuur-bucket.s3.amazonaws.com/image_BigBen_68c7c4a6e7953b1337a02ce5_0.jpg) — [Image: wikimedia](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:London_,_Westminster_-_Big_Ben_-_geograph.org.uk_-_2546935.jpg)
- ![](https://mytuur-bucket.s3.amazonaws.com/image_BigBen_68c7c4a6e7953b1337a02ce5_1.jpg) — [Image: wikimedia](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Pink_sky_over_Big_Ben_\(20783255819\).jpg)
- ![](https://mytuur-bucket.s3.amazonaws.com/image_BigBen_68c7c4a6e7953b1337a02ce5_2.jpg) — [Image: wikimedia](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Dusky_Big_Ben_\(180813845\).jpeg)
- ![](https://mytuur-bucket.s3.amazonaws.com/image_BigBen_68c7c4a6e7953b1337a02ce5_3.jpg) — [Image: wikimedia](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Big_Ben,_London,_United_Kingdom_\(Unsplash_bAJsKLA8RSg\).jpg)
- ![](https://mytuur-bucket.s3.amazonaws.com/image_BigBen_68c7c4a6e7953b1337a02ce5_4.jpg) — [Image: wikimedia](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Big_Ben_at_sunrise,_2016.jpg)

Spots like this one are the stops myTuur strings into tours through Greater London. In the app, each story begins where you stand: walk up to a spot and it starts, read it on screen or listen as you go, then follow the route to the next one.

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