Big Ben fell silent during the Second World War (1939-1945), to comply with blackout regulations, and a mechanical failure in 1976 resulted in another period of silence for nine months. The sound of Big Ben’s chimes was broadcast for the first time across the United Kingdom on New Year's Eve 1923 by BBC Radio. The 'Great Clock' began ticking on and the 'Great Bell's strikes were heard for the first time across London on 11 July. In 1856, the first 'Big Ben' bell was cast, although it later developed a crack during testing and a second 'Big Ben' bell was cast by the Whitechapel Bell Foundry in East London.

The clock mechanism was completed in 1854. The construction of the clock tower took several years as a competition was held to finalise its design, with John Dent appointed in 1852 to build the clock to the designs of Edmund Beckett Denison. The clock tower that we know today first began to be constructed in 1843 following the creation of a new Gothic Revival-style Palace of Westminster designed by architect Charles Barry in 1840, in the wake of an earlier fire that destroyed most of the old building. The restoration of the Elizabeth Tower has generated enormous interest across the world and Big Ben has fallen silent for almost five years – one of the longest periods that it has been out of operation since the Elizabeth Tower was built. The newly restored Elizabeth Tower more popularly known as Big Ben (photo CPA HQ).īig Ben is probably one of the world's most famous and instantly recognisable clocks, and it has featured in images around the world. As the chimes of Big Ben ring out once again at the UK Parliament after falling silent during the restoration of the Elizabeth Tower for almost five years, this blog article examines this iconic clock tower and some of the many different clock towers in Parliaments around the Commonwealth.

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