Big Ben, striking the hours
On this page Westminster Chime starts with Big Ben, the Great Bell of Westminster. Start it and leave the tab open: on every hour the bell strikes the time, once at one o'clock and twelve times at noon and midnight.
The sound is a real recording: a field recording of Big Ben at midnight, made in 2017, with the noise of the city around it. Unlike the other clocks, this one does not play the Westminster melody and does not tick: only the hour strikes are recorded here.
A bell of several tonnes
Everything about this clock is deeper and slower than the others. The strokes come about four seconds apart, and each one keeps ringing long after the next begins. The site replays three recorded strikes in turn, so twelve strokes never sound like a single copied sound.
Turn the volume up and it fills the room: this is the clock to choose if you want the sound of London rather than of a living room.
The real Great Clock
Strictly speaking, Big Ben is neither the tower nor the clock but the Great Bell that strikes the hours. Cast at the Whitechapel foundry in 1858, it weighs about 13.7 tonnes. It cracked in 1859, soon after coming into service; instead of recasting it, engineers turned it and fitted a lighter hammer, and that repair shaped the tone heard ever since. The tower itself was renamed Elizabeth Tower in 2012.
The clock's pendulum is about 3.9 metres long and beats once every two seconds. Its rate is still fine-tuned by adding or removing old coins on the pendulum. You cannot hear it from the street and no free recording of it exists, which is why this page has no tick. Between 2017 and 2022 the bells were largely silent while the tower was restored.
For a sense of occasion
Big Ben is the most solemn clock here, a good way to mark the hours in a quiet house. To find out where the Westminster melody comes from and which words go with it, read the history of the Westminster chime.
Questions
Is Big Ben the name of the tower?
No. Big Ben is the nickname of the Great Bell that strikes the hours. The tower was long known as the Clock Tower and has been called Elizabeth Tower since 2012.
How many times does Big Ben strike?
Once at one o'clock and twelve times at noon and midnight. On this page it strikes only the hours: the melody of the quarter hours is not part of the recording.
Is this the real sound of Big Ben?
Yes. It is a recording of the Great Bell at midnight, made in 2017 and shared under a Creative Commons licence, credited on this page. Three of its strikes are used and replayed in turn.