Big Ben Scaffolding to be Removed
Scaffolding hiding the roof of the Elizabeth Tower, one of London’s most famous landmarks, which houses Big Ben, will begin to be removed in the coming days.
Big Ben went into hiding for three years, being renovated under the massive steel scaffolding, but the top of the tower will soon be visible again to the public. However, work will continue on the rest of the famous structure.
How long will it take to reveal Big Ben?
Taking down the steel scaffolding will take approximately six weeks and will also reveal 3,433 cast iron roof tiles which were removed and repaired in a specialist workshop. Crumbling stone work and leaks were also fixed as part of the conservation work
Members of Parliament and the general public have been looking forward to seeing the massive pile of scaffolding come down on Big Ben – so the unveiling of the roof will be a memorable moment, or at least the most memorable moment of 2020.
Ricki Grenfell, who owns RSG Scaffolding said: “We could all do with some good news this year, with all that has happened in this COVID world, so it’s very exciting to actually see some more of this great monument when we visit our Capital City.
The full scale of the work needed to complete the refurbishment by the deadline late in 2021 only became clear after the first “intrusive surveys” on the 177-year-old structure.
