Blenheim Palace has launched a seven-week conservation programme to restore its 18th century Clock Tower, located at the entrance to the World Heritage Site's Great Courtyard.

The project is being carried out by the Palace's Built Heritage and Collections teams, supported by specialist contractors. Work has already begun with a 10-day scaffold build to access all four faces of the clock, as well as the Golden Ball that sits at the top of the tower.

Once scaffolding is complete, a four-week restoration will begin on the four clock faces, including regilding the numerals and borders, followed by a week-long dismantling of the structure.

The restoration is necessary due to sun damage which has caused paint to peel, particularly on the east and south-facing dials, while the gilded numerals have also faded.

-- Advertisement --

The works will involve removing the old paint and gilding, repairing each clock face, and repainting with Capri Blue to match the original specification. The numerals, borders and clock hands will then be regilded with 23.5 carat double gold leaf.

During this stage, the dial motion works will also be removed, cleaned and stripped of old oil and dirt by The Cumbria Clock Company under the direction of clock conservator Keith Scobie-Youngs.

The clock itself is regarded as the finest surviving example of Langley Bradley, a renowned clockmaker whose masterpiece at St Paul's Cathedral was completed in 1709. The Blenheim Palace mechanism, dated 1710, shares distinctive features with the St Paul's clock, including finely turned corner posts and fleur-de-lys motifs on its train bars, details not seen on any other surviving Bradley clocks.

At the same time, the Golden Ball atop the tower will undergo full restoration, including removal of the existing gilding and base coat, repairs to indentations, and regilding with 23.5 carat double weight gold leaf.

The restoration project is being led by Chris Monaghan, Clerk of Works at Blenheim Palace, and Carmen Alvarez, the Palace's Collections Manager.

Specialist contractors involved include Apex Scaffolding, Oxford Iron Company for the gilding works, and The Cumbria Clock Company for clock repairs and conservation.