Big Ben - the huge clock bell of Britain's Parliament - fell silent as a four-year restoration project gets underway on the Victorian clock and the Elizabeth Tower (formerly known as Clock Tower).

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The clock has rarely stopped - even after a bomb destroyed the Commons chamber during the Second World War, the clock tower survived and Big Ben continued to strike the hours. The chimes of Big ...

the hourly chimes were actually played by the announcer on a set of chime bells in the studio. But Big Ben was broadcast to usher in 1924, and later, a microphone was installed inside the clock ...