Pink Big Ben Pop Art Poster

Big Ben is the name of the Great Bell inside the Elizabeth Tower at the Palace of Westminster, although the nickname is commonly used for the whole clock tower. Standing beside the Thames and Westminster Bridge, it has become one of London’s most familiar sights. The Great Clock began keeping time in 1859, with Big Ben sounding the hours for the first time that July.

There is a surprisingly hands-on detail behind all that precision. The clock’s pendulum can be adjusted using old pre-decimal pennies: adding a single penny changes its timing by two-fifths of a second over 24 hours. The four clock faces are each seven metres across, helping explain why the tower remains so instantly recognisable from streets, bridges and river views around Westminster.