If you’ve been wandering around Westminster today and looked up at Big Ben (okay, fine, the Elizabeth Tower) as you passed by, you might have been tempted to double-check your watch. That’s because, according to at least one clock face on the famous London landmark, it’s currently 12 o’clock, all day long. Well, according to one of the clock faces, at least.
Yup, while the rest of the clock faces at the top of Elizabeth Tower are ticking along merrily, displaying the correct time, one face’s clock hands seem to have gotten stuck. More specifically, the Western clock face is displaying the wrong time, while the others continue to function as normal.
Why is the time wrong on Big Ben’s* clock?
So, why is it permanently lunchtime, according to at least one side of Big Ben? No, the clock hasn’t broken. Instead, it’s been disconnected on purpose, as part of improvement works to the world-famous clock.
According to a post from the UK Parliament’s Bluesky account, the hands were stopped on purpose this past weekend, on Saturday, April 11, and will restart next week. This will allow for repairs and improvements to the “weatherproofing around the dial face.”
Additionally, they add, “The repairs are to the dial face, not the clock itself. However, to facilitate the work the West Dial has to be stopped to protect the dial mechanism during the repairs.”
So until Tuesday of next week, this is your chance to take a curious photo of the London landmark displaying two very different times at once.
* Look, I know, technically Big Ben is the bell. And the clock is part of the Elizabeth Tower. But come on, for ease of understanding, most people do know it as Big Ben. Even the UK Parliament website refers to it as Big Ben…
