Description
The cleaned and restored Elizabeth Tower, which is part of the Houses of Parliament in Westminster, London and is attached to the House of Commons home to the UK's primary Parliament and Government. The recently renovated and cleaned tower is often referred to, wrongly, as Big Ben. The tower was originally named as St Stephen's Tower during the reign of Queen Victoria. The tower was renamed in 2012 in honour of the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II. The tower in Gothic Revival architectural style, standing 316 feet, or 96.3 metres high was originally completed in 1859. It is elaborately decorated with stone carvings and features symbols related to the four nations of the United Kingdom. Big Ben is actually the name given to the Great Bell, the largest bell and part of the clock workings of the Great Clock of Westminster visible here. The Latin inscription below the clock dials reads, Domine Salvam fav Reginam Nostram Victoriam Primam, which when translated reads as, O Lord, keep safe our Queen Victoria the First.
