HL Deb 25 October 1990 vol 522 cc1684-6WA
Lord Norrie

asked Her Majesty's Government:

What work has been carried out in the current year to the Great Clock.

Baroness Blatch

As my honourable friend the then Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Environment announced on 22nd March, the hour strike had to be taken out of action to allow essential repair work to be carried out. The chime was restored on 28th August.

My noble friend will no doubt have noticed that the tone of the chime is lower than it was before the work started. This is mainly because the bearings, which are new, need time to settle in and new rubber buffers have been installed. However, a check with the archives has confirmed that the tone is identical to a recording made after similar work was carried out in 1956.