Big Ben’s clockface unveiled as five-year £80,000,000 refurbishment nears end

The hands of the clock were removed three years ago for restoration work as part of the Elizabeth tower restoration project (Pictures: PA/ Getty)

The restoration of London’s world-famous landmark Big Ben is nearing its end as the freshened-up clockface was unveiled yesterday.

Scaffolding is gradually being removed from the clock, which stands 320ft tall at the north end of the Palace of Westminster.

The site has been an eyesore and a disappointment for many visitors yearning to hear its mighty chimes since the start of the works in 2017.

The cost for the ‘essential’ renovations, which was initially forecast to cost a whopping £29 million, have since sky-rocketed to £80 million.

Now, new pictures reveal the painstaking level of detail that has gone into the five-year refurbishment of the famous bell and Parliament’s Elizabeth Tower, in which it is housed.

Those passing over Westminster Bridge can now spot a colour-scheme change, along with the restoration of the decorative symbols of the UK which adorn the clock tower.

For decades, the clock dials and the stonework surrounding them were painted in many layers of black paint that became synonymous with Big Ben.

This is the most extensive programme of conservation ever carried out to the Tower, which is due for completion in 2022 (Picture: PA)

The restored clock hands, which have been painted to match the original Prussian Blue colour scheme on the clock dials, have been installed on the face of Big Ben (Picture: PA)

Experts believe the colour scheme was chosen in the 1930s to mask the effects of pollution but, returning to the original vision by Parliament’s architects Charles Barry and Augustus Welby Pugin, the clock has since been updated.

Following restoration off-site, the clock hands have been painted to match the original Prussian Blue colour scheme on the clock dials, with the hands reattached over the summer.

The black paint on the stonework around the clock dials has been removed and certain features have been gilded again.

Workers clean the East-facing clock face of the Elizabeth Tower of the Houses of Parliament on August 19, 2014 (Picture: Oli Scarff/Getty Images)

Other key details have also returned to Barry’s original design, such as the row of six shields above each dial that displays St George’s red cross on a white background.

Work is due to be completed in 2022 – a year later than expected, with delays caused by the pandemic.

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Big Ben’s chimes were silenced in August 2017 to allow work to be carried out on the tower, but has since chimed for Brexit and New Year.

The decision to silence the bells was made to protect the hearing of the staff on the tower, but at the time it drew much criticism from a number of MPs and the then Prime Minister Theresa May.

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