The clock dial frames and the hands of the Elizabeth Tower are to be repainted in a return to the original Victorian colour scheme shown in this week’s header image. Completed in 1859, the design of the clock tower was undertaken by Charles Barry, the architect of the Gothic Revival Palace of Westminster. Barry also created the intricate ironwork for each of the dials – including the choice of Prussian blue and gold frames filled with white glass.
New white opalescent glass will be installed once the metalwork has been cleaned and repainted. The black paint to the surrounding stonework will be removed and certain features re-gilded; the row of six shields above each dial will display the St George’s coat of arms, with a red cross on a white background.