The most famous clock in the world, a symbol of stability in a chaotic British political context, officially comes out of its silence this Sunday, at 11:00 GMT, and will start telling the time to Londoners again.
To get as close as possible to Big Ben, you need earplugs and noise-canceling headphones to protect your eardrums. And when the 13.7 ton bell rings, the vibrations can be felt right through the chest.
After five long years of renovation, the most famous clock in the world officially comes out of its silence on Sunday and will start telling the time to Londoners again. The emblematic bell, which dominates the British parliament, will thus return to its usual rhythm after the meticulous cleaning of more than 1,000 parts that compose it.
In August 2017, more than a thousand people gathered outside Parliament to listen religiously to the last twelve strokes of Big Ben and the four other – smaller – bells that accompany it. Some had even shed a tear, believing they were losing part of their city.
Many should meet again on Sunday, at 11:00 GMT, to hear this symbol of London resonate. The carillon of four bells will then ring every quarter hour, and Big Ben every hour as it had done for 158 years before its renovation.
The date coincides with “Remembrance Sunday”, celebrated on the Sunday following November 11 to celebrate the armistice of the First World War. In five years, the clock has rung on a few rare occasions thanks to a substitute electrical mechanism, such as recently for the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II who died on September 8.
Perched at the top of the Elizabeth Tower – 96 meters high – the bells are protected by an external net to prevent bats and pigeons from rushing into the belfry.
From up there, the view of London is spectacular, but the three watchmakers in charge of the proper functioning of Big Ben do not have time to enjoy it. Ian Westworth, 60, and his colleagues are too busy finalizing final tests and making sure everything is working properly after the £80m (€91m) refurbishment.
London calling
“It’s the sound of London that is back”told AFP the watchmaker during a morning visit to the tower. “The bells rang during the wars”he marvels, emphasizing the extent of the transformations of the city that they have witnessed.
The Elizabeth Tower, the new name given to the “Clock Tower” in 2012 on the occasion of the monarch’s Diamond Jubilee, was built in the 1840s. more imposing buildings have since sprung up.
“Before, on a calm night, you could hear (Big Ben) up to 15 miles (24 km) awayrecalls Ian Westworth. Now you are lucky if you hear it from the other side of Parliament”.
During the works, various parts of the bells were cleaned and repainted, but the bells themselves did not move. Big Ben is so imposing that moving it would require destroying the floor of the tower.
The most difficult task of the works was to remove the mechanism of the clock, heavy of 11.5 tons and dating from 1859, in order to clean the cogs. In addition, 28 bulbs now illuminate the four faces of the clock, with tones ranging from green to white to resemble as closely as possible the gas bulbs of the Victorian era. Another bulb, white, is above the bells to indicate when parliament is sitting.
Before the renovation, watchmakers checked the accuracy of the time with telephones. From now on, the clock is calibrated by GPS thanks to the National Physical Laboratory. But the method for adjusting the time remains very traditional: old coins are used to add or remove weight from the gigantic springs of the clock, making it possible to gain or lose a second.
As a new hour approaches, it’s time to put on your earplugs and headphones to witness another test. It is 7 a.m., Big Ben – symbol of stability in a chaotic British political context – rings seven times in a deafening vibrato.
But Ian Westorth and his 35-year-old colleague, Alex Jeffrey, remain focused on their job: looking after the 2,000 clocks in parliament. “Every day you tell the time in a very manual way, using technology, art and craftsmanship, summarizes Alex Jeffrey. It’s the best job in the world.”
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