Big Ben Is Not The Name For The Tower
You've probably seen the enormous clock tower at the Palace of Westminster's corner if you've ever visited to London or even just seen a photograph of it. Along with the London Eye, and red double-decker buses, this tower is one of London's most recognizable landmarks.
One of the interesting facts about London, Big Ben is not the name of the actual clock tower. Instead, it was given the name "Elizabeth Tower" to honor Queen Elizabeth II, who was celebrating her Diamond Jubilee (the 2012 60th anniversary of her accession to the throne). Its previous name was simply "Clock Tower."
Neo-Gothic architecture was used in Augustus Pugin's design of the tower. Its clock was the biggest and most precise four-faced striking and chiming clock when it was finished in 1859. The tower is 334 feet (96 meters) tall, and there are 334 steps that must be taken to get to the belfry. It has a square base that is 40 feet (12 meters) on each side. The clock's dials have a diameter of 22.5 feet (6.9 m). The tower of shields features symbols for each of the UK's four countries: a rose for England, a thistle for Scotland, a shamrock for Ireland, and a leek for Wales. Celebrations were conducted to commemorate the tower's 150th birthday on May 31, 2009.
