Big Ben in London

One of the most famous icons of London, Big Ben is located in the Tower of the Palace of Westminster which includes Chambers of the Parliament, the House of lords, the House of Commons and Westminster Hall.

Big Ben in London is actually the nickname of 13 tons Bell located at the top of the Tower, even though it is often extended to include the clock and the clock tower. The tower was built in 1288 and Bell ranked on its first ringtone 31 May 1859. This is biggest four faced chiming clock worldwide as well as the high plus-third self-standing clock tower.

Interestingly, the clock tower is not open to overseas visitors, however UK residents can arrange a tour even if she does not walk 334 steps to reach the Summit as there is no elevator.

Augustus Pugin designed clock compound that incorporate portions 312 opal glass and on each side of the clock has a Latin inscription which means "Lord, keep safe our first Victoria Queen."

Renowned for its reliability, iconic clock accrued London accurately when intense bombardment during the blitz even with two damaged clock faces. The faces of the clock was clouded night during the two world wars I and II to prevent attacks. The only time of Big Ben has had a major outage was on August 5, 1976, when he was removed from service for 26 days over a period of nine months. In August 2007, this clock had six long weeks of maintenance to replace the bearings in the drive train in London and the "great Bell" GACHE.

Big Ben is a popular icon of London and the United Kingdom. Image and chimes are used by ten, ITV, BBC Radio 4 and the BBC World Service News ITN News. Historic clock in London, also plays a very important for the countdown to the eve of the day of the year and the celebrations when all eyes are turning to the clock.

May 2009 Big Ben London celebrated its 150th anniversary, and we look forward to another 150 years of accurate time and carillons.

The article is written by Madhukar Shah to the official website of London Town Hotels Limited, London hotels fastest growing group.

On the city of London hotels:

Web site: health - hotels .com
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