Big Ben is the nickname for the Great Bell of the Great Clock of Westminster, and by extension for the clock tower itself, which stands at the north end of the Palace of Westminster in London, England. Originally known simply as the Clock Tower, it was renamed Elizabeth Tower in 2012 to mark the Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II. The clock is a striking clock with five bells.
Big Ben, June 2022
The Palace of Westminster from across the River Thames. The Elizabeth Tower is visible on the right.
Ayrton Light, above the green-lit belfry
The interior of the clock face
Clock towers are a specific type of structure that house a turret clock and have one or more clock faces on the upper exterior walls. Many clock towers are freestanding structures but they can also adjoin or be located on top of another building. Some other buildings also have clock faces on their exterior but these structures serve other main functions.
A clock tower in Erbil
Sarajevo Clock Tower
A clock tower in the Helsinki Central Station
The Tower of the Winds in Athens, built c. 50 BC during Roman Greece