Big Ben sounds positive note on 160th anniversary

The Great Bell – known to most as Big Ben – has remained in the belfry of Elizabeth Tower whilst the most extensive programme of conservation work is carried out on the Tower itself. The project began in 2017 and is due for completion in 2021.

Big Ben has remained in situ but the Great Clock – the 11 tonne mechanism that kept time and ensured the bell was struck with punctuality – has been taken apart and removed from the site so that clockmakers can service every cog and wheel that makes up the Victorian timepiece.

Since the project began, Big Ben has temporarily stopped its hourly chimes, but an electric motor has been installed to drive the temporary hands of the clock whilst the mechanism is restored, and the bell is struck for Remembrance Sunday and New Year’s Eve whilst work continues.

Adam Watrobski, principal architect, explained to reporters that Elizabeth Tower is 96m tall and that the first 61m is made up of masonry. The remaining 35m is cast iron, which Watrobski said was inspired by Liverpool’s Albert Dock, a structure built in 1846 that was the first fireproof dock warehouse.