Big Ben
Time is free, but it’s priceless. You can’t own it, but you can use it. You can’t keep it, but you can spend it. Once you’ve lost it, you can never get it back.
The world’s most famous clock has seen the reign of six monarchs and 41 prime ministers.
The actual name of that iconic clock is Elizabeth Tower. A clock tower was built on the site of Big Ben in the 1290’s but no record of it remains. In 1367 the previous clock towers was replaced with a new clock and tower. In 1698 the clock was removed and a sundial was installed but fell into disrepair quickly. After a fire in 1834 a new clock was commissioned. Politics, architecture, and mechanical failure of the first bell delayed the initiation of the present day Big Ben until May 31st, 1859.
Thankfully, Big Ben survived the bombings of England through World War II. Since the great war it survived an explosion caused by a mechanical failure causing it to stand silent for 9 months. In 2017 the most extensive conservation of the clock tower began to allow it to live on and provide future generations its beautiful chimes symbolic of British class & longevity.