Elizabeth Tower, Palace of Westminster (Big Ben)

Palace of Westminster’s Elizabeth Tower, better known as ‘Big Ben’, is an iconic structure recognisable worldwide. Designed by Charles Barry and Augustus Pugin, it was completed in 1859 as a Gothic Revival masterpiece. The tower underwent major conservation work in 2017-2022 - the largest and most complex conservation project in the Tower’s history. 

As part of this, Lincoln Conservation was commissioned to undertake architectural paint research to define the original colour scheme of the clockface, as well as other elements of the tower. 

Working closely with Cliveden Conservation and Sir Robert MacAlpine, 128 paint samples were removed from the painted and gilded areas of the exterior of the tower and analysed by Lincoln Conservation. Alongside this, archival evidence, such as Barry’s watercolour drawing of the tower, was consulted to gain a wholistic understanding of the history of the decorative finishes on the Tower. 

The findings significantly impacted the final design choices for redecoration and allowed for a research-backed approach to the substantial, and very public, challenge of managing change. As part of this, Lincoln Conservation also appeared in many public engagement activities, for instance the Channel 4 programme Big Ben: Restoring the World-Famous Clock (2018: Countdown to New Year) and UK Parliament YouTube Series: The People Behind Big Ben: Lincoln Conservation.

Finally, Lincoln Conservation’s position within the University of Lincoln meant that this project directly contributed to the institution’s Research Excellence Framework (REF) score – a national system for measuring research excellence, which revealed that more than three quarters of the University of Lincoln’s research was judged to be internationally excellent or world-leading.