London’s Westminster Clock Silenced for 6 Weeks

The bell of London’s Westminster clock tower above the Houses of Parliament stopped on August 11, 2007 for up to six weeks. Londoners and tourists who visiting London during this period will miss the chime from the bells as the clock’s chimes were shut down for cleaning as part of the maintenance works.

The 96-metre (315 ft) clock tower is also known as Big Ben. This time is the longest suspension of Big Ben since 1990. Previous stoppages of both the hour and quarter bells were in 1956 and 1934.

However, the clock will still read the time by an electric system while work takes place on the mechanism.