Westminster’s Big Ben has didn’t bong for the second time in every week regardless of a £80m refurbishment venture going down six years in the past.
The clock, which sits within the Elizabeth Tower, stopped for the primary time on Wednesday 10 May simply earlier than 1pm, after which once more on Wednesday this week for round half-hour from 9am.
The well-known bongs didn’t chime regardless of Big Ben solely being introduced again into enterprise for the primary time in 5 years final November.
A spokesperson for the House of Commons stated they have been conscious of the issues and so they have been rectified “quickly”, with an “enhanced servicing of the mechanism” carried out shortly afterwards.
The spokesperson stated the clock dials and bells of the tower have been “functioning as normal and no risks to the integrity of the mechanism have been identified”.
They added that such points have been “not uncommon” following an “intensive conservation programme”.
The Elizabeth Tower, which is 96 metres tall, was designed by Charles Barry and Augustus Pugin and accomplished in 1859 in the course of the reign of Queen Victoria.
It has weathered many a storm, together with the Blitz, a century-and-a-half of London air pollution and the invention of asbestos.
The multi-million pound refurbishment of the Elizabeth Tower began in 2017 – forcing Big Ben to take a seat silent for 5 years, aside from on particular events.
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The restoration concerned in depth scaffolding, 500 staff and ended up operating £51m over funds.
Big Ben’s unique clock palms have been introduced again to the Elizabeth Tower in the summertime of 2021, three years after they have been eliminated for conservation work which noticed the mechanism of the Great Clock taken aside piece by piece and restored in Cumbria.
The clock’s iconic dials have been restored to their unique color of Prussian blue after consultants found the shade beneath layers of black paint.
The lights behind the clock face at the moment are powered with vitality environment friendly LEDs versus gasoline, whereas seven hundred items of stone have been additionally changed.
Big Ben bonged again into life for regular service on Armistice Day final November following the in depth restoration.
Content Source: information.sky.com