The People Behind Big Ben: Lincoln Conservation Live UK Parliament Talk

Since 2017, Big Ben – known officially as The Elizabeth Tower – has been undergoing the largest and most complex conservation project in its 178-year history.

Earlier this year, experts from Lincoln Conservation at University of Lincoln, who specialise in a technique called Architectural Paint Research, uncovered that the clock face of Big Ben was originally a vibrant shade of blue.

The clock face had been painted black in 1930’s, most likely to hide the effects of pollution. Painstaking work has now removed the black paint – restoring the original vision of architects Charles Barry and Augustus Pugin.

UK Parliament is running a virtual 45-minute session about the conservation team’s process in uncovering six layers of different paints from throughout the Tower’s history. The talk will be hosted by research fellows and conservators at Lincoln Conservation, Phillipa McDonnell and Rhiannon Clarriocates.

The session will take place on Wednesday 29 September at 6:00pm and is free to attend. You can register by copying and pasting this link into your browser: https://ukparliament.seetickets.com/tour/the-people-behind-big-ben-lincoln-conservation?utm_campaign=0921-mar-ve-onltalkstours_bigbenlincoln&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=universityoflincoln&utm_content=organic