Big Ben to be silent for Baroness Thatcher's funeral

Speaker John Bercow announces the move

 

The chimes of Big Ben will be silenced for the duration of Baroness Thatcher's funeral, House of Commons Speaker John Bercow has announced.

He told MPs this would be "an appropriate means of indicating our sentiments" during the occasion.

There was a "profound dignity through silence," Mr Bercow added.

The silence will last throughout events on Wednesday, covering the procession from Westminster and the ceremony at St Paul's Cathedral.

The chiming of Big Ben, the name often used to describe the Great Bell, the Great Clock and the Elizabeth Tower - clock tower - in the Palace of Westminster, is one of London's most famous sounds.
'Deep respect'
It has not been silenced as a mark of respect since the funeral of former Prime Minister Sir Winston Churchill in 1965, although it was out of action for repairs for a period during the 1970s.

In a statement to the Commons, Mr Bercow said he had received "direct and indirect representations" over the best way for Parliament to mark the funeral of Lady Thatcher, who died last week aged 87.

Big Ben facts

• The Great Bell, better known as Big Ben, is 2.2m tall, has a diameter of 2.7m and weighs 13.7 tonnes
• The hammer which strikes the bell weighs 200kg
• When struck it chimes the musical note E
• It was cast in the Whitechapel Bell Foundry, and installed on 10 April, 1858. It took 18 hours to lift it into the clock tower's belfry
• The chimes of Big Ben were first recorded and broadcast by BBC engineer AG Dryland on New Year's Eve 1923
• It was out of action from 09:45 GMT until midnight on the day of Churchill's funeral