The 13.5 British ton (15.1 U.S. ton) Big Ben will cease to sound the hours while the clock is stopped, and it will be cleaned and checked for cracks. It isn't due to resume regular service until 2021.

The works are being halted over Christmas, allowing the bell to chime without risk. In August the news that Big Ben would not sound again before 2021 prompted criticism from Theresa May and other MPs.

But it paved the way for regular broadcasting of the chimes, which continues to this day. Hearing the bells has mattered hugely to generations of people over the years. The sound of Big Ben has ...

Watch on LiveTube Now 👉 Video: LIVE: Big Ben chimes as Armistice Day marked with two minute silence Big Ben chimes as ...

When the BBC first started in 1922, the hourly chimes were actually played by the announcer on a set of chime bells in the studio. But Big Ben was broadcast ... picked up the sound of the clock ...

Watch live as London's Elizabeth Tower, known as Big Ben, chimes to mark Armistice Day on Monday, 11 November. The bells also rang out on Sunday to mark the start of the two-minute silence on ...