Big Ben
Of this clock tower at the north end of the Palace of Westminster, the name 'Big Ben' that most people blurt out is in fact the nickname of the great bell inside, only later extended to the tower and clock together. The tower was designed in the Perpendicular Gothic style by architects Augustus Pugin and Charles Barry, begun in 1843 and completed in 1859, standing about ninety-six metres high. It is Britain's most vivid cultural symbol and often stands in for London itself in the opening shots of films. But behind the clock faces and the chimes you look up to lie stories of a bell that cracked twice, of timekeeping adjusted with copper coins, of war and strikes—worth pausing here and stepping into the details.
United Kingdom · 1 The overlooked corners inside
The overlooked corners inside
Big Ben
Tilt your head back and look at those four clock faces: each dial is roughly 6.9 metres across, assembled from cast-iron segments and set with 312 opal glass panes — reputedly no two alike on the same face. Running along the bottom of each is a Latin inscription, *DOMINE SALVAM FAC REGINAM NOSTRAM VICTORIAM PRIMAM* — "God save our Queen Victoria the First." Unlike most Roman-numeral clocks, which use IIII for four, this one uses the correct IV. The hands are equally uncompromising: a copper minute hand about 4.3 metres long, a gun-metal hour hand about 2.7 metres.
Sources: en.wikipedia.org
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