Big Ben Timeline

Originally, the dials were backlit using gas lamps, at first only when Parliament was sitting, but they have routinely been illuminated from dusk until dawn since 1876.

Electric bulbs were installed at the beginning of the 20th century, replacing the gas lamps previously used to backlight the clock dials.

A practice of broadcasting the chimes, including via the BBC World Service, began on 31 December 1923, carrying the sound of Big Ben around the world.

The chimes of Big Ben have been used at the state funerals of monarchs on four occasions, chiming one stroke for each year of the monarch's life: King Edward VII in 1910 (68 strokes), King George V in 1936 (70 strokes), King George VI in 1952 (56 strokes), and Queen Elizabeth II in 2022 (96 strokes).

Image source: Death and state funeral of George VI

The bells were silenced during the funeral of Winston Churchill on 30 January 1965, as a mark of respect for the wartime prime minister.

Image source: Death and state funeral of Winston Churchill

Prior to the millennium New Year, a recording of the clock was released by London Records under the title 'Millennium Chimes', with the artist labelled as Big Ben. It reached number 53 for the week ending 8 January 2000.

At the close of the polls for the 2010 general election, the results of the national exit poll were projected onto the south side of the tower.

Image source: 2010 United Kingdom general election

To welcome in 2012, the clock tower was lit with fireworks that exploded at every toll of Big Ben.

On 2 June 2012 the House of Commons voted to change the name from the Clock Tower to Elizabeth Tower in commemoration of Queen Elizabeth II in her Diamond Jubilee year. The name change was confirmed on 26 June, and announced by Prime Minister David Cameron on 12 September 2012.

Starting at 8:12 am, Big Ben chimed 30 times to welcome the Games of the 30th Olympiad, which officially began that day in London.

Image source: 2012 Summer Olympics

The bells were silenced as a mark of 'profound dignity and deep respect' during the funeral of former prime minister Margaret Thatcher.

Image source: Death and funeral of Margaret Thatcher

At the state funeral of Queen Elizabeth II, Big Ben chimed one stroke for each year of her life – 96 strokes – continuing the tradition of honouring deceased monarchs.

Image source: Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II

Before 1878 the clock stopped for the first time in its history, 'through a heavy fall of snow' on the hands of a clock face. From 21 August 1877 to January 1878 it was also stopped for three weeks to allow the tower and mechanism to be cleaned and repaired.

In February 1900, a heavy build-up of snow on a clock face impeded the progress of the hour hand, causing the clock to stop for about eight hours.

For two years during the First World War, the bells were silenced and the clock faces were not illuminated at night to avoid guiding attacking Zeppelins of the German Empire. The bells were restored at 11:00 am on 11 November 1918 to mark the end of the war.

On 2 April 1934 the clock stopped from 7:16 am to 1:15 pm, when it was repaired.

On 23 September 1936, a painter in the clock room placed a ladder against a shaft driving the hands, stopping the clock from 8:47 am to 10:00 am.

From 1 September 1939, although the bells continued to ring, the clock faces were not illuminated at night throughout the Second World War to avoid guiding bomber pilots during the Blitz.

On 10 May 1941, the day before the Blitz ended, an air raid by the Luftwaffe damaged two of the dials and sections of the tower's stepped roof and destroyed the Commons chamber. The damage was repaired, but refurbishment from 2017 revealed greater damage than originally thought.

The clock stopped from 10:13 pm on 3 June 1941 until 10:13 pm the following morning, after a workman repairing air-raid damage to the clock face left a hammer too close to the mechanism.

Extremely cold temperatures froze the rubber bushings on the quarter-bell hammers, preventing the chimes sounding from 9:00 pm on 25 January 1945 to 9:00 pm the following evening; the BBC broadcast the pips in the interval. The same problem occurred on 28 January 1947.

The clock slowed by four-and-a-half minutes after a flock of starlings perched on the minute hand.

The rope operating the striking hammer broke, silencing the clock from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm. Earlier that year, on 13 January, drifts of snow had stopped the clock at 3:24 am.

Heavy snow and ice on the hands slowed the pendulum, causing it to detach from the clockwork as designed to avoid serious damage, so the clock chimed in the 1963 new year nine minutes late.

The air brake speed regulator of the chiming mechanism broke from torsional fatigue after more than 100 years of use, causing the fully wound 4-ton weight to spin the winding drum out of the movement, causing much damage. The clock was shut down for 26 days over nine months and reactivated on 9 May 1977.

Two members of the environmental group Greenpeace scaled the tower and blocked the face for 11 hours. Twenty years later, on 20 March 2004, Greenpeace activists again blocked the clock face for seven hours.

The clock stopped 24 hours before the 1997 general election, and stopped again three weeks later.

Maintenance crews discovered the clock to be running seven seconds fast, prompting adjustments to bring it back to accurate timekeeping.

The clock dials all stopped at 12:55 pm, and Big Ben did not chime at 1:00 pm.

Daniel Day scaled the side of the tower and sat on a ledge holding a Palestinian flag in protest. He pleaded guilty to trespassing on a protected site, and in June 2026 a jury found him guilty of causing a public nuisance.

The tower has been part of a Grade I listed building since 1970, and in 1987 it was designated by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site as part of the Palace of Westminster.

The clock and tower were renovated between 2017 and 2021, during which the bells remained silent (with a few exceptions). Originally estimated at roughly £29 million, the cost more than doubled to nearly £80 million after greater bomb damage, asbestos, lead paint and broken glass were discovered. The works added a lift in the shaft and reinstated the original Prussian blue colour scheme of the clock faces.

In December 2021, after four years of renovations, the tower emerged from behind its scaffolding in time for the ringing in of the new year, and the gantry supporting the scaffolding was removed in April 2022.

On Remembrance Sunday, 13 November 2022, the chimes of Big Ben returned to regular service for the first time since August 2017, preceding the hour bell being sounded at 11:00 am local time, marking the beginning of two minutes of silence.

The restoration of Elizabeth Tower was shortlisted for the Stirling Prize, recognising the excellence of the conservation work carried out between 2017 and 2021.

Image source: Stirling Prize