
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
clock tower commonly (though incorrectly) known as ''
Big Ben'' of 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".
Unusually for clocks in
Britain, Little Ben is set one hour in advance of
Greenwich Mean Time throughout the year. During the summer this coincides with
British Summer Time, while in the winter this is the same as
Central European Time. Although this means that the clock displays the local time for only half the year, it does demonstrate a preference for neither Britain nor Europe. This sentiment is captured in the 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.''
А replica of Little Ben was constructed in
1903 in
Victoria, a capital city of
Seychelles.