London’s Big Ben’s Twitter Feed

Michelle February 10, 2013 4 Comments

Yes, the historical landmark clock tower, Big Ben, has his own twitter feed. He is quite timely at tweeting his hourly updates…. I have also added an audio file of ol’ Big Ben himself announcing the time.

A little bit of information about Big Ben via Wikipedia.

Basic Info

Big Ben is the nickname for the Great Clock of Westminster at the north end of the Palace of Westminster in London, and often extended to refer to the clock and the clock tower, officially named the Elizabeth Tower, as well. Elizabeth Tower holds the largest four-faced chiming clock in the world and is the third-tallest free-standing clock tower. It celebrated its 150th anniversary on 31 May 2009, during which celebratory events took place. The tower was completed in 1858 and has become one of the most prominent symbols of both London and England, often in the establishing shot of films set in the city.

Dials

The hour hand is 9 feet (2.7 m) long and the minute hand is 14 feet (4.3 m) long. The clock and dials were designed by Augustus Pugin. The clock dials are set in an iron frame 23 feet (7.0 m) in diameter, supporting 312 pieces of opal glass, rather like a stained-glass window. Some of the glass pieces may be removed for inspection of the hands. The surround of the dials is gilded. At the base of each clock dial in gilt letters is the Latin inscription:

“DOMINE SALVAM FAC REGINAM NOSTRAM VICTORIAM PRIMAM”

Which means “O Lord, keep safe our Queen Victoria the First.”

Nickname

The origin of the nickname Big Ben is the subject of some debate. The nickname was applied first to the Great Bell; it may have been named after Sir Benjamin Hall, who oversaw the installation of the Great Bell, or after boxing’s English Heavyweight Champion Benjamin Caunt. Now Big Ben is often used, by extension, to refer to the clock, the tower and the bell collectively, although the nickname is not universally accepted as referring to the clock and tower. Some authors of works about the tower, clock and bell sidestep the issue by using the words Big Ben first in the title, then going on to clarify that the subject of the book is the clock and tower as well as the bell.