Great Clock of Westminster

E41127

clock mechanism turret clock

The Great Clock of Westminster is the iconic 19th-century clock mechanism that powers the famous Big Ben tower clock at the Palace of Westminster in London.

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All labels observed (5)

Label	Occurrences
Great Clock of Westminster canonical	2
Great Clock of Westminster (Big Ben mechanism)	2
Big Ben bell	1
Elizabeth Tower clock	1
Palace of Westminster clock mechanism	1

How this entity was disambiguated

This entity first appeared as the object of triple T318070 — resolving that mention is where its identity was fixed. The disambiguator weighed these candidate entities and picked the highlighted one (or “None”, minting a new entity). This is how homonymy is resolved: the same surface form can point to different entities.

NED1 Entity disambiguation (via context triple) gpt-5-mini-2025-08-07

Target entity: Great Clock of Westminster
Context triple: [Palace of Westminster, hasClock, Great Clock of Westminster]

A. Albert Memorial Clock
The Albert Memorial Clock is a prominent 19th-century clock tower and landmark in central Belfast, built in Gothic style to commemorate Prince Albert.
B. Ayer Mill Clock Tower
The Ayer Mill Clock Tower is a historic mill clock tower in Lawrence, Massachusetts, known for its large clock faces and as a prominent symbol of the city’s industrial past.
C. City Hall, London
City Hall, London is a distinctive glass-fronted building on the south bank of the River Thames that served as the home of the Mayor of London and the London Assembly.
D. St Paul's Cathedral
St Paul's Cathedral is a historic Anglican cathedral in London renowned for its magnificent dome and role as a national religious and ceremonial landmark.
E. Tower of London
The Tower of London is a historic fortress and former royal palace on the River Thames, famed for its role as a prison, treasury, and home of the Crown Jewels.
F. None of above. chosen
G. Unsure - the case is ambiguous/there is not enough information to decide.

NED2 Entity disambiguation (via description) gpt-5-mini-2025-08-07

Target entity: Great Clock of Westminster
Target entity description: The Great Clock of Westminster is the iconic 19th-century clock mechanism that powers the famous Big Ben tower clock at the Palace of Westminster in London.

A. Albert Memorial Clock
The Albert Memorial Clock is a prominent 19th-century clock tower and landmark in central Belfast, built in Gothic style to commemorate Prince Albert.
B. Ayer Mill Clock Tower
The Ayer Mill Clock Tower is a historic mill clock tower in Lawrence, Massachusetts, known for its large clock faces and as a prominent symbol of the city’s industrial past.
C. City Hall, London
City Hall, London is a distinctive glass-fronted building on the south bank of the River Thames that served as the home of the Mayor of London and the London Assembly.
D. St Paul's Cathedral
St Paul's Cathedral is a historic Anglican cathedral in London renowned for its magnificent dome and role as a national religious and ceremonial landmark.
E. Tower of London
The Tower of London is a historic fortress and former royal palace on the River Thames, famed for its role as a prison, treasury, and home of the Crown Jewels.
F. None of above. chosen

Statements (50)

Predicate	Object
instanceOf	clock mechanism ⓘ turret clock ⓘ
architecturalStyle	Victorian ⓘ
chimes	Westminster Quarters ⓘ
completedBy	Frederick Dent ⓘ
constructedBy	Edward John Dent ⓘ
constructionStart	1840s ⓘ
country	United Kingdom ⓘ
designedBy	Edmund Beckett Denison ⓘ Sir George Airy ⓘ
designedForAccuracy	yes ⓘ
dialDiameter	about 7 meters ⓘ
escapementType	double three-legged gravity escapement ⓘ
function	hour striking ⓘ quarter striking ⓘ timekeeping ⓘ
hasComponent	double three-legged gravity escapement ⓘ fly governors ⓘ gear trains ⓘ going train ⓘ gravity escapement ⓘ hour striking train ⓘ pendulum ⓘ quarter striking train ⓘ weights ⓘ winding mechanism ⓘ
heritageDesignation	part of UNESCO World Heritage Site Palace of Westminster ⓘ part of a Grade I listed building ⓘ
inception	1859 ⓘ
locatedIn	Elizabeth Tower ⓘ London, England ⓘ surface form: London Palace of Westminster ⓘ
notableFor	innovative gravity escapement design ⓘ precision for a large public clock ⓘ
numberOfClockFacesDriven	4 ⓘ
partOf	Great Clock of Westminster self-linksurface differs ⓘ surface form: Elizabeth Tower clock
pendulumLength	about 4 meters ⓘ
pendulumPeriod	2 seconds ⓘ
powers	Big Ben clock faces ⓘ Great Bell timekeeping ⓘ
powerSource	descending weights ⓘ
regulationMethod	pennies on pendulum ⓘ small weights on pendulum ⓘ
significantEvent	first ticked in 1859 ⓘ subject of major conservation works in the 2010s ⓘ
strikes	Great Bell ⓘ quarter bells ⓘ
timekeepingAccuracy	within one second ⓘ
winding	manual ⓘ
windingFrequency	three times a week ⓘ

How these facts were elicited

Referenced by (7)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Palace of Westminster → hasClock → Great Clock of Westminster ⓘ

Palace of Westminster → notableFeature → Great Clock of Westminster ⓘ

this entity surface form: Big Ben bell

Great Clock of Westminster → partOf → Great Clock of Westminster self-linksurface differs ⓘ

this entity surface form: Elizabeth Tower clock

Great Bell → partOf → Great Clock of Westminster ⓘ

this entity surface form: Palace of Westminster clock mechanism

Edward John Dent → notableWork → Great Clock of Westminster ⓘ

this entity surface form: Great Clock of Westminster (Big Ben mechanism)

Edward John Dent → designed → Great Clock of Westminster ⓘ