During the second
world war the House of Commons was destroyed, but the clock tower
remained intact and Big Ben continued to keep time and strike away
the hours, its unique sound was broadcast to the nation and around
the world, a welcome reassurance of hope to all who heard it. |
Big Ben is one of London's
most famous landmarks.
"Big Ben" does not refer to the whole clock tower, but
to the huge thirteenth bell which strikes the hour.
The four dials of the clock are 23 feet square, the minute hand is
14 feet long and the figures are 2 feet high. Minutely regulated
with a stack of coins placed on the huge pendulum, Big Ben is an
excellent timekeeper, which has rarely stopped. |
