London’s Big Ben to show fresh face to ring in New Year

London, November 24 (BUS): The ports of Big Ben will emerge from a shroud of scaffolding just in time for the world famous clock to play its most important annual role – ringing in the New Year for thousands on the streets of London and millions more watching on TV.

The clock tower was hidden in the Houses of Parliament for three and a half years while hundreds of craftsmen repaired the masonry, replaced the metalwork, repainted and rebuilt it in the largest restoration since its construction in 1859.

Nick Sturge, project manager for Sir Robert MacAlpine’s private projects, said the removal of the scaffolding was a “massive milestone” in the £79.7 million ($107 million) project.

“By the New Year,” he said, “people will start to see a big difference; they will start getting their sign back.” “The ceilings will be fully visible, with four clock faces,” according to Reuters.

Big Ben, the largest and most accurate chiming clock with four faces when built, is a symbol of parliamentary democracy in London and Britain around the world, as well as being one of the city’s most photographed locations.

The restoration includes replacing all panels on the clock faces with blown glass, Sturge said. Dial hands, numerals, and other details have been repainted in bright blue instead of the black familiar to Londoners.

Sturge said an old watercolor showed a blue outline, which was confirmed by analysis of the paint that found the first coat was Prussian blue.

“It’s really amazing,” he said. “When you’re standing on the street, it’s a really nice nod to the past.”

The floral emblems of the four parts of the UK – thistle, shamrock, leek and rose – have been repainted in the colors of Charles Barry’s original design for the tower, which was renamed after Queen Elizabeth in 2012.

12 Great Bell Bongs – the origin of the name Big Ben – that will mark the start of the year will be powered by an electric motor. The original Victorian clock mechanism will take over again when the bells resume their usual pattern of ringing every quarter and chime every hour in the spring.

Alex Jeffrey, one of the three watchmakers at the Palace of Westminster, the official name of Parliament House, said the watch had been taken to Cumbria, in northwest England, to be disassembled and rebuilt.

“Everything has been returned to the original specifications,” he said. “It’s a big group – 11 and a half tons. To give you an example, one scorpion weighs about 305 kilograms (672 lb) and the minute hand is 14 feet (4.3 meters) long.”

The only dial that shows the time the scaffolding descends is electrically powered, but all four dials will be powered by the original gravity-powered clock again in the spring.

“It’s famously accurate,” he said. “The Great Clock is very well designed and is accurate to even one second for the first stroke of every hour.”

HF