Big Ben

This year Big Ben celebrated its 150th(!) birthday in May.

The clock faces are seven metres across. The main bell is officially called the Great Bell, but is nicknamed Big Ben.There are 393 steps from the bottom to the top.

The modern 96.3 meter high tower was designed by Augustus Pugin who was a renowned Catholic Gothic architect. He was especially commissioned by Charles Barry who was in charge of the design and reconstruction of a new palace of Westminster following a fire that destroyed the original palace in 1834.

The actual clock mechanism was designed by Edmund Beckett Denison, a lawyer and an amateur horologist and Sir George Airy, Astronomer Royal (this is an honorary title awarded to one eminent British astronomer at a time since 1675) and constructed by Edward John Dent.

The clock is known for its reliability and didn’t have any major stops for more than hundred years!

Such a beautiful building – I have three million pictures of it because it is difficult to get a ‘perfect’ shot!

Still I am looking forward to see your pictures of Big Ben – maybe we can get to four ;)