Engineers installed a new shaft

The peal of quarter bells - which sound in the key of F - were silenced by engineers last month.

Three engineers have worked since 30 April to install a new steel shaft in Houses of Parliament clock.

The 13.5-tonne hour bell and 9ft-long hour hands have been stopped only once, following a major breakdown in 1976.

Edward John Dent's clock, installed in St Stephen's Tower, at the northern end of the Palace of Westminster, became operational in 1859.

Mike McCann, Keeper of the Great Clock, said that the installation of the new shaft had been a "lengthy and difficult" process.

But he added: "The Great Clock is now chiming in all its original glory."