treasury, a zoo, the Royal Mint, a public records office, an observatory, and since
1303, the home of the Crown Jewels of the United Kingdom.
Today the Tower of London is cared for by an independent charity, Historic Royal
Palaces, which receives no funding from the Government or the Crown.[2]
Big Ben
Big Ben
is the nickname for the great bell of the clock at the north end of the Palace of
Westminster in London,[1] and is often extended to refer to the clock or the clock
tower as well.[2] Big Ben is the largest four-faced chiming clock and the third-tallest
free-standing clock tower in the world.[3] It celebrated its 150th anniversary in May
2009 (the clock itself first ticking on 31 May 1859),[4] during which celebratory
events took place.[5][6]
A clock tower was built at Westminster in 1288, with the fine-money of Ralph
Hengham, Chief Justice of the King's Bench.[7][8]
The present tower was raised as a part of Charles Barry's design for a new palace,
after the old Palace of Westminster was destroyed by fire on the night of 16 October
1834.
The new Parliament was built in a Neo-gothic style. Although Barry was the chief
architect of the Palace, he turned to Augustus Pugin for the design of the clock tower,
which resembles earlier Pugin designs, including one for Scarisbrick Hall. The design
for the Clock Tower was Pugin's last design before his final descent into madness and
death, and Pugin himself wrote, at the time of Barry's last visit to him to collect the
drawings: "I never worked so hard in my life for Mr Barry for tomorrow I render all
the designs for finishing his bell tower & it is beautiful."[9] The tower is designed in
Pugin's celebrated Gothic Revival style, and is 96.3 metres (315.9 ft) high (roughly 16
stories).[10]