Big Ben is located at the north end of the Westminster Palace in London. Actually, the nickname Big Ben refers to the large bell of the clock tower, but probably a large majority of people would associate the name with the whole tower. The Big Ben clock tower is huge – its height of nearly 100 meters makes it the third highest clock tower in the world. The clock faces of the tower are more than 7 meters each in their diameter, and the interior volume of the tower is over 4600 cubic meters. There are 393 steps that one has to climb if one wants to go to the top of the tower by the stairs. The construction of the tower was finished in 1856, after 13 years of work.
Though the name “Big Ben” is quite commonly associated with the tower, it is actually the nickname of the large bell in the tower.
The reason for naming the bell “Big Ben” is not completely clear, but the most likely theory is that the bell was named after Sir Benjamin Hall who was the First Commissioner for Works. His name is found inscribed on the bell. An alternative explanation is that the name is based on the heavyweight boxer Ben Caunt.
