13.8 t30,300 lb
Big Ben, the Great Bell in the Elizabeth Tower at Westminster, weighs 13,760 kg (30,339 lb), the figure recorded by the Whitechapel Bell Foundry that cast it in 1858. Parliament rounds it to 13.7 tonnes. That is the bell alone, without the 200 kg hammer that strikes it or the four smaller quarter bells.
| First bell, John Warner & Sons, 1856About 16 tons; cracked in testing in 1857 and was broken up | 16.3 t35,800 lb |
|---|---|
| Hour bell as specified by Charles Barry14 tons, the planned weight | 14.2 t31,400 lb |
| Big Ben today, Whitechapel, 185813 tons 10 cwt 3 qr 15 lb, foundry record | 13.8 t30,300 lb |
The Whitechapel Bell Foundry, which cast the bell, recorded its weight in the old British units as 13 tons 10 cwt 3 qr 15 lb. That adds up to 30,339 lb, or about 13,760 kg, the number the foundry gave in metric and the one we use. UK Parliament lists it as 13.7 tonnes, and you will also see 13.5 tons, which is the same weight in British long tons. In US short tons it is just over 15 tons.
The bell is 2.7 m (9 ft) across at the mouth and 2.2 m (7 ft 6 in) tall, and it sounds an E. It does not swing. It hangs fixed and is struck from outside by a 200 kg (440 lb) hammer. The four quarter bells that play the Westminster chimes weigh 1.1, 1.3, 1.7 and 4 tonnes, about 8.1 tonnes together, so the whole set of five comes to roughly 21.9 tonnes.
Architect Charles Barry had specified a 14-ton hour bell. At the time the largest bell ever cast in Britain was Great Peter at York Minster, at 10¾ tons, so founders were wary, especially as Edmund Beckett Denison, who designed the clock, insisted on his own bell shape and his own metal recipe.
John Warner & Sons cast the first bell at Stockton-on-Tees on 6 August 1856. It came out oversize at about 16 tons and was brought to London by rail and sea. While it was being tested in New Palace Yard it was struck with ever heavier hammers, and on 17 October 1857 a crack about 4 ft long opened up from the rim. The bell was broken up and the metal was carted to Whitechapel to be melted down for the second one.
George Mears cast the new bell at Whitechapel on Saturday 10 April 1858. According to the foundry, three furnaces melted the metal, filling the mould took 20 minutes, and the bell then needed 20 days to solidify and cool. Mears quoted £2,401, but the metal reused from the first bell was credited at £1,829, so the final invoice was only £572. It is still the largest bell the foundry ever made.
A trolley drawn by 16 horses carried the bell from Whitechapel over London Bridge and Westminster Bridge, with crowds lining the decorated streets. At the tower it was hauled sideways up a shaft inside the building to the belfry, and it began striking the hours on 11 July 1859.
In September 1859, about two months after it went into service, the new bell cracked too. The foundry blamed Denison, who had fitted a hammer more than twice the weight Mears had specified. Until 1863 the hours were struck on the largest quarter bell.
The bell was never recast. A small square was cut out of the rim at the crack to stop it spreading, the bell was turned so the hammer hit an undamaged spot, and a lighter 200 kg hammer was fitted. Most accounts, including the foundry’s, say it was turned an eighth of a turn; an older Parliament factsheet says a quarter turn. The crack is still there, and it is part of the reason Big Ben sounds the way it does.
The bell was silenced again for the restoration of the Elizabeth Tower, from 21 August 2017, apart from special occasions. Its regular chimes returned on 13 November 2022.
The Great Bell weighs 30,339 lb, from the foundry’s record of 13 tons 10 cwt 3 qr 15 lb. That is about 13,760 kg, or just over 15 US short tons.
Strictly, Big Ben is the Great Bell. The tower was called the Clock Tower until 2012, when it was renamed the Elizabeth Tower for Queen Elizabeth II’s Diamond Jubilee, but most people use Big Ben for the whole tower and clock.
The usual story is that it was named after Sir Benjamin Hall, the commissioner of works when the bell was installed. Another theory points to the heavyweight boxer Benjamin Caunt, whose nickname was Big Ben; there is no record that settles it.
It cracked in September 1859, a few months after it started striking, because it was hit with a hammer far heavier than the foundry had specified. Instead of recasting it, the bell was turned, a small square was cut out at the crack, and a lighter 200 kg hammer was fitted.
No. Great Paul at St Paul’s Cathedral is the heaviest, and Great George at Liverpool Cathedral, about 15 tonnes, is second. Big Ben, at 13.76 tonnes, comes after both.
Last checked October 2, 2026.
