Big Ben’s Chimes Rang for the First Time in 4 Years

This spring, the clock will be put back into service.

After nearly four years of silence, one of London’s most famous landmarks rang out just in time for the new year.

Big Ben, the iconic clock tower near the River Thames, rang in the new year with all of its dials on display. It was the first major event where the clock face has been on display since the tower began lengthy repairs in 2017, according to the UK Parliament.

According to CNN, the tower began the most expensive repairs in its 160-year history four years ago, costing approximately $107 million (£79.7 million). During the repairs, the crew discovered extensive damage to the clock from the Nazi bombing campaign during WWII, which added time and money to the project.

“To have had our hands on every single nut and bolt is a huge privilege,” said Ian Westworth, a Parliament clock mechanic working on Big Ben. “It’ll be quite emotional when it’s all over — there will be sadness that the project is over, but happy that we have it back and everything is back up and running.”

The face of the clock was repaired at the Cumbria Clock Company in England’s Lake District. Before returning the clock in November, the company cleaned the clock’s face, chiming mechanism, and approximately 1,000 other different parts.

“We transplanted the heart of the UK up to Cumbria,” the company’s director and co-founder Keith Scobie-Youngs said in a statement. “We were able to assemble the time side, the heartbeat, and test it in our workshop, so for two years we had that heartbeat ticking away in our test room, which was incredibly satisfying; it became part of the family, and its departure has been like a child leaving home.”

Big Ben had a few test rings on December 29 and 30 before its big moment. On New Year’s Eve, the bell rang at noon, 4 p.m., and every hour on the hour beginning at 9 p.m. until 12 a.m.

Big Ben used to simply refer to the name of the largest bell inside the Elizabeth Tower at London’s Houses of Parliament. However, the name now refers to the entire clock tower.

The Great Clock is still being repaired, and the bell will soon begin a period of testing before returning to regular service. Residents in the Westminster area will begin hearing Big Ben’s chimes in late January and will continue through the spring. At the end of the test period, the bells will ring out with their famous “Westminster Quarters” melody on a regular basis.

Source: https://bit.ly/3HHR0Jj