Silent 160th birthday for famous London bell, Big Ben

Описание: (11 Jul 2019) SILENT 160TH BIRTHDAY FOR FAMOUS LONDON BELL, BIG BEN
Britain's Big Ben turned 160 years on Thursday, marking the anniversary in silence as the Victorian clock tower and its famous bells continue to undergo restoration work.
According to Adam Watrobski, Principal Architect for Strategic Estates, the restoration programme is on schedule, however, the process of improving Big Ben's exterior and interior has so far proved challenging.
"As soon as you start to peel off layers you start to find things you didn't expect," Watrobski explained.
"And that's certainly happened in the roof, and there was no way we could find those unexpected bits until we started to take the roof apart, and we couldn't do that until we got the scaffolding up," he added.  
After 158 years as Britain's most famous timekeeper, Big Ben bell fell silent in 2017 and is not due to resume its regular duties until 2021.
Much of the iconic Elizabeth Tower is currently covered in scaffolding, however, the dials on the clock face remain visible.
Ahead of its upcoming birthday, Watrobski highlighted Big Ben's importance in the United Kingdom.
"This clock started telling the time in 1859; 160 years ago of course... it had a huge influence in actually disseminating time, certainly in London and probably on British punctuality in that case as well," he said.

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