Big Ben Re-Emerges After Five-Year Restoration, Leaving Londoners In Awe

After five years of restoration works, Big Ben’s scaffolding is slowly coming down, unveiling a glimmering facade that’s left Londoners in awe. 

Back in September last year, parts of the clock had been revealed, most notably with its hands changing from black to vibrant Prussian blue. Now, after over a thousand pieces of its face were taken apart and spruced, the top of the Big Ben has re-emerged with its stunning gold paint glistening in the sun.

According to Time Out, many of the city’s residents have expressed delight at the change, taking to social media to voice how impressed they are with the restoration efforts. 

Twitter user @starralune said: “The glinting golden frame… emerald details… intricate gold flower face… celestial blue dial and hands… Ben is beautiful.” 

MyLondon reported on similar sentiments, sharing a Facebook post that read: “Being a Londoner, I’ve never seen it shine so brightly! The sun was reflecting off of it and it was gleaming!” 

Workers at the Cumbria Clock Company, who were in-charge of sprucing up the iconic landmark, have been carefully cleaning and restoring hundreds of pieces of the clock’s face over the five-year period. 

“We transplanted the heart of the UK up to Cumbria. We were able to assemble the time side, the heartbeat, and put that on test in our workshop, so for two years, we had that heartbeat ticking away in our test room,” said the company’s co-founder Keith Scobie-Youngs.

“It was a once in a lifetime opportunity to work on the best-known clock in the world.” 

The rest of the clock’s redesigned facade will be unveiled over the course of 2022, and soon it’ll return to London’s skyline in all its glory.

Maybe it’s been worth the wait? pic.twitter.com/a1EpBcuMcb

— David Belle (@davidbelle_) January 11, 2022

[via Time Out and MyLondon, cover image via Jessica Taylor, House of Commons photographer / UK Parliament]