This tower was built as part of Charles Barry's design for a new Palace of Westminster, after the old palace was largely destroyed by fire on October 16, 1834 - only the 900-year-old Westminster Hall and St. Stephen's Chapel remain. Stefan.

Although Barry was the main architect of the neo-Gothic palace, he turned to Augustus Pugin, who already had experience in building such structures (Scarisbrick Hall in Lancashire), to design the Clock Tower. It was Pugin's last project before his death due to mental illness. When he handed over the project, he said that the work on it was very hard, but the tower would be beautiful.