38 F
London
HomeCultureBig Ben to Chime Regularly Again From Next Year - Elizabeth Tower...

Big Ben to Chime Regularly Again From Next Year – Elizabeth Tower restoration to be completed in 2022

London Forecast

London
light rain
38 ° F
40.5 °
35.5 °
87 %
2.2mph
100 %
Sat
37 °
Sun
40 °
Mon
44 °
Tue
47 °
Wed
50 °
USD - United States Dollar
GBP
1.24
EUR
1.04
CAD
0.70
AUD
0.63

Popular London Tours

Popular

Great London Buildings: The Shell Centre on the Southbank

The Shell Centre, situated on London's South Bank, stands...

Ten Romantic Places to Visit in London

Paris might be the “City of Love”, but London...

London on Film: Ten Romantic Comedy Locations to Visit in London

Everyone loves a good Romantic Comedy, or Rom-Com, as...

The London Fiver – Five London Romantic Comedies

In troubling and lonely times, a good romantic comedy...

Heathrow Unveils Multi-Billion Pound Expansion Plan Following Government Backing

Heathrow Airport has announced its most ambitious investment program...

Londinium: 10 Interesting Facts and Figures about Roman London

  Londinium was the Roman name given to the settlement...

Top Ten London: Top 10 Most Romantic Places in London

Love is in the air when February rolls around,...

Five Romantic Activities in London for Valentine’s Day

Now that the world is opening up again, people...

Share

Big Ben will ring again from early next year as the restoration of Parliament’s Elizabeth Tower nears completion.

The refurbishment of the Westminster landmark, which has already spiraled to at least £80 million, was originally expected to be finished this year but was delayed as the Covid-19 crisis held up work.

In a statement, UK Parliament authorities said: “The Elizabeth Tower conservation project is due to complete in the second quarter of 2022, and Parliament has revealed a number of important milestones that are expected on the project over the next twelve months.

Big Ben repairs
The project represents the most extensive program of conservation ever carried out on the Elizabeth Tower (Mark Duffy/UK Parliament/PA)

“These include the removal of further scaffolding, the re-installation of the Great Clock, and the return of Big Ben’s world-famous chimes.”

They added the “complex task” of installing the restored clock mechanism would begin this summer.

“Following years of painstaking conservation work, the clock hands, now resplendent in their original Victorian color scheme, will be added to the clock dials, with the restored mechanism returning to the Tower later in the year,” the statement said.

Coronavirus – Sat Nov 7, 2020
Big Ben has been silent since 2017 (Yui Mok/PA)

Early next year the bells, including Big Ben, will be reconnected to the original Victorian clock mechanism “and will ring out across Westminster once again”.

Then the gantry, which has protected the Palace of Westminster throughout the works and supported the complex scaffolding structure, will be removed before the site is fully cleared ahead of summer next year.

The famous bell has been largely silent since 2017 due to repairs on the clock and Parliament’s Elizabeth Tower which houses it, only being reconnected for significant occasions.

Londontopia Staff
Author: Londontopia Staff

This article was submitted and adapted by Londontopia Staff and used with a license from the Press Association UK (PA Media). All images and content used with permission.

Book London Tours Now!