WORLD : 8 Gongs and Big Ben Falls Mute

LONDON — Big Ben’s hourly bell, one of Britain’s best-known sounds, resounded over central London at 8 a.m. today for the last time for up to 12 weeks to allow essential repairs.

The famous clock over the Houses of Parliament will continue to tell the time, but its hourly bong has been silenced.

The hammer arm that strikes the bell to sound the number of dongs for every hour is suffering from metal fatigue and will be replaced, government minister Christopher Chope said last week.

The name Big Ben actually applies only to the 13 1/2-ton bell, but it has become the nickname for the whole 20-story tower.

The British Broadcasting Corp., which starts radio news bulletins with a live broadcast of the hourly bells, said it will replace Big Ben with the clock known as Big Tom at St. Paul’s Cathedral.