Q 01/05

Strictly speaking, 'Big Ben' is the nickname of what?

A) The bell

B) The dial

C) The spire

D) The pendulum

Answer · why

A) The bell

By extension the name is now used for the clock and the whole tower, though purists object.

Q 02/05

What new name did the structure receive in 2012 to mark the Diamond Jubilee?

A) Windsor Tower

B) Elizabeth Tower

C) Victoria Tower

D) Jubilee Tower

Answer · why

B) Elizabeth Tower

The precedent was the palace's west tower, renamed Victoria Tower for Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee.

Q 03/05

Big Ben stands at the north end of which building?

A) Buckingham Palace

B) The Palace of Westminster

C) The Tower of London

D) Westminster Abbey

Answer · why

B) The Palace of Westminster

The tower was part of Charles Barry's design for a new palace after the old one burned in 1834.

Q 04/05

Which architect designed the tower, his last work before illness and death in 1852?

A) John Nash

B) Augustus Pugin

C) Christopher Wren

D) Charles Barry

Answer · why

B) Augustus Pugin

He wrote that he had 'never worked so hard in my life' finishing the bell tower drawings for Barry.

Q 05/05

In which year was the tower completed?

A) 1859

B) 1834

C) 1851

D) 1843

Answer · why

A) 1859

Construction had begun on 28 September 1843, with the contractors Thomas Grissell and Morton Peto.