The UK's iconic Big Ben bell at the Houses of Parliament has fallen silent for four years of renovation work, with its final 12 bongs ringing at midday on Monday.

 

The ceasing of the bell-ringing is to ensure the safety of workers carrying out renovations on the clock tower that houses the bell. The tower's great clock will be dismantled and examined, with each cog to be restored. The clock's four dials will be cleaned and repaired, their cast iron framework renewed, and the hands removed and refurbished. Big Ben is not due to resume regular timekeeping until 2021, though it will be heard on special occasions such as New Year's Eve.