Big Ben falls silent
On August 21st on the stroke of midday, Big Ben – the bell inside the Palace of Westminster in London – chimed one last time before being silenced for the next four years. Both the tower and the clock mechanism are to be renovated as part of extensive repair work on the palace, where the British Parliament sits. The clock will continue to show the time thanks to a replacement mechanism, and at least one of its faces will remain visible to the public. The bell has been silenced once before due to renovation work, between 1983 and 1985, and again in 2007 for maintenance.