Little Ben

File:Little Ben - Victoria Street - Westminster - London - 010604.jpg

Little Ben, Victoria Street, London

Little Ben is a cast iron miniature clock tower, situated at the intersection of Vauxhall Bridge Road and Victoria Street, in Westminster, central London, close to the approach to Victoria station. In design it mimics the famous clock tower colloquially known as Big Ben at the Palace of Westminster, found at the other end of Victoria Street.

Little Ben was manufactured, according to Pevsner, by Gillett & Johnston of Croydon, and was erected in 1892; removed from the site in 1964, and restored and re-erected in 1981 by Westminster City Council with sponsorship from Elf Aquitaine Ltd "offered as a gesture of Franco-British friendship".

There is a rhyming couplet Apology for Summer Time signed J.W.R. affixed to the body of the clock:

My hands you may retard or may advance

my heart beats true for England as for France.

The couplet is a reference to the fact that the clock is permanently on Daylight Saving Time leading to the time being correct for France during the winter months and correct for the UK during the summer.

А replica of Little Ben called Lorloz (painted silver) was erected in 1903 in the centre of Victoria, capital of Seychelles to mark the Golden Jubilee of Queen Victoria in 1897.

Little Ben was removed in 2012 and put in storage during upgrade works to London Victoria station and will be reinstated once the works are completed, which is expected to be 2016.