Big Ben is the bell in the tower clock in London. Name. There are two versions of the origin of the name of the tower. According to one version, big Ben is named after Sir Benjamin Hall, who supervised the work on casting the bell. Another says that the heaviest at the time the bell (13.7 tons) was named after Benjamin count, a very famous boxer in heavy weight at that time. Construction. The tower was built by the English architect Augustus Pyudzhina in 1858. The first time the clock started may 21, 1859. Officially the tower called "Clock tower of Westminster Palace." Clock control. When the clock on the tower in a hurry or be late (the error is small - only 1.5 - 2 seconds), the pendulum put the old English penny. Putting or removing a coin, the caretaker achieves the accuracy of the mechanism. Now big Ben-one of the most famous buildings in the UK.