fbpx

KidsKonnect

Big Ben in London Facts & Worksheets

Big Ben is the nickname for the Great Bell of the clock at the north end of the Palace of Westminster in London. This is usually extended to refer to both the clock and the clock tower.

Search for Worksheets

Worksheets /Social Studies /Geography /Landmarks & Sights /Big Ben in London Facts & Worksheets
Premium
Big Ben in London Worksheets
Not ready to purchase a subscription? Click to download the free sample version   Download sample

Big Ben is the nickname for the Great Bell of the clock at the north end of the Palace of Westminster in London. This is usually extended to refer to both the clock and the clock tower. The official name of the tower in which Big Ben is located was originally the Clock Tower, but it was renamed Elizabeth Tower in 2012 to mark the Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II.

See the fact file below for more information on the Big Ben in London or alternatively, you can download our 19-page Big Ben in London worksheet pack to utilise within the classroom or home environment.

Key Facts & Information

ORIGIN

  • Elizabeth Tower, previously called the Clock Tower, but more popularly known as Big Ben, was raised as a part of Charles Barry’s design for a new palace, after the old Palace of Westminster was largely destroyed by a fire on the night of 16 October, 1834. Six years later, Barry got the job to build the palace again. It took thirty years and a lot of money to build the new place.
  • On 2 June 2012, The Daily Telegraph reported that 331 Members of Parliament (MP) supported a proposal to change the name from Clock Tower to Elizabeth Tower in tribute to Queen Elizabeth II in her diamond jubilee year.
  • The tower stands at 315 feet (96.0 m) high. The bottom 200 feet (61.0 m) of the tower’s structure consists of brickwork with sand-coloured Anston limestone cladding.
  • The remainder of the tower’s height is a framed spire of cast iron. The tower is founded on a 50 feet (15.2 m) square raft, made of 10 feet (3.0 m) thick concrete, at a depth of 13 feet (4.0 m) below ground level.
  • The four clock dials are 180 feet (54.9 m) above ground. The interior volume of the tower is 164,200 cubic feet (4,650 cubic metres).

CLOCK

  • DIALS
    • Augustus Pugin planned the clock and dials that is part of the tower. Pugin decided to make a clock with four faces – one on each side. 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.
    • 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”.
  • MOVEMENT
    • The clock’s movement is famous for its reliability. The designers were the lawyer and amateur horologist Edmund Beckett Denison, and George Airy, the Astronomer Royal.
    • The construction was entrusted to clockmaker Edward John Dent. After his death in 1853, his stepson Frederick Dent completed the work in 1854.
    • As the tower was not complete until 1859, Denison invented the double three-legged gravity escapement. This escapement provides the best separation between the pendulum and clock mechanism.
    • The pendulum is installed within an enclosed windproof box beneath the clock room. It is 13 feet (4.0 m) long, weighs 660 pounds (300 kg), suspended on a strip of spring steel 1⁄64 inch in thickness, and beats every two seconds. The clockwork mechanism, in a room below, weighs five tons.

BELL

  • DIALS
    • The main bell, officially known as the Great Bell, is the largest bell in the tower and part of the Great Clock of Westminster. The bell is as heavy as two elephants. It sounds an E-natural.
    • The original bell was a 16 ton (16.3-tonne) hour bell, cast on 6 August 1856 in Stockton-on-Tees by John Warner & Sons. It is thought that the bell was originally to be called Victoria or Royal Victoria in honour of Queen Victoria, but that an MP suggested the bell’s current nickname of “Big Ben” during a Parliamentary debate.
  • CHIME
    • Along with the Great Bell, the belfry houses four quarter bells which play the Westminster Quarters on the quarter hours. The four quarter bells sound G♯, F♯, E, and B. They were cast by John Warner & Sons at their Crescent Foundry in 1857 (G♯, F♯, and B) and 1858 (E).
    • The quarter bells play a once-repeating, 20-note sequence of rounds and four changes in the key of E major: 1–4 at quarter past, 5–12 at half past, 13–20 and 1–4 at quarter to, and 5–20 on the hour (which sounds 25 seconds before the main bell tolls the hour).

Big Ben in London Worksheets

This is a fantastic bundle which includes everything you need to know about Big Ben in London across 19 in-depth pages. These are ready-to-use Big Ben in London worksheets that are perfect for teaching students about the Big Ben which is the nickname for the Great Bell of the clock at the north end of the Palace of Westminster in London. This is usually extended to refer to both the clock and the clock tower. The official name of the tower in which Big Ben is located was originally the Clock Tower, but it was renamed Elizabeth Tower in 2012 to mark the Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II.

Complete List Of Included Worksheets

  • Big Ben in London Facts
  • Big Ben Timeline
  • Words to Know
  • The Big Ben
  • Numbers in Tower
  • Send Postcard
  • Breakdowns of Big Ben
  • Clock Towers
  • Elizabeth Tower
  • Time Flies
  • Watch Me Growing

Link/cite this page

If you reference any of the content on this page on your own website, please use the code below to cite this page as the original source.

Link will appear as Big Ben in London Facts & Worksheets: https://kidskonnect.com - KidsKonnect, July 11, 2019

Use With Any Curriculum

These worksheets have been specifically designed for use with any international curriculum. You can use these worksheets as-is, or edit them using Google Slides to make them more specific to your own student ability levels and curriculum standards.

Related Resources