Keith Scobie-Youngs, Co-Founder, The Cumbria Clock Company (Cumbria, England)
In 2017, the Great Clock of Westminster—better known as Big Ben—was fully dismantled and removed from the iconic Elizabeth Tower for the first time since its installation in 1859. This unprecedented conservation project, completed in 2022, presented a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to examine, restore, and future-proof the world’s most famous public timepiece.
At the June 2025 lecture of the Horological Society of New York (HSNY), Keith Scobie-Youngs, co-founder of The Cumbria Clock Company, will share behind-the-scenes of the entire five-year restoration process, from the meticulous disassembly and transportation of the 5.5-ton movement to the intricate conservation techniques employed by his specialist team. Every stage of the project was guided by a deep respect for the clock’s original craftsmanship and a commitment to ensuring its reliable operation for another 160 years and beyond.
Join Scobie-Youngs, lead conservator on the project, as he shares the challenges, discoveries, and triumphs of restoring this remarkable Victorian masterpiece to its full glory.
*Doors open at 5:30 PM ET, lecture to begin at 6 PM ET. RSVP is required.
** The lecture video will be available to members immediately, and to the general public following a two-month delay.
About Keith Scobie-Youngs FBHI ACR
Keith studied Horology at the School of Jewellery and Silversmithing in 1981 and following graduation in 1984, he worked for six years at Public Clocks in London.
In 1990 he established the Cumbria Clock Company Ltd with his wife Lynn, which is situated in the small village of Dacre in the Lake District National Park.
Keith has grown Cumbria Clock Company into a sizeable business, employing 22 members of staff consisting of the office team, the workshop conservators, and external horological engineers.
The Company is responsible for the annual maintenance of over 1,400 church and public clocks situated throughout the UK and has undertaken conservation projects to some of the country’s most prestigious church and public clocks.
Keith’s experience includes working on the country’s oldest clock at Salisbury Cathedral, the Astronomical Clock at Hampton Court Palace, as well as major projects at Canterbury, Durham, Hereford, Gloucester, Worcester, Truro and Manchester Cathedrals, and the Royal Liver Building, Liverpool.
Other commissions include the Westminster Clock, better known as “Big Ben”, where he has been overseeing the biggest conservation works undertaken on the world’s most famous clock.
The company also designed, manufactured, and installed the world’s largest internal bell hammer, which struck the Olympic Bell and started the London 2012 Games, and the conservation of the Government Buildings clock in Fiji.
Other clients include the Royal Household, Historic Royal Palaces, English Heritage, and the National Trust.
Keith was the Master of the Worshipful Company of Clockmakers, London in 2024, is a Director of the Antiquarian Horological Society, Director of the British Watch and Clockmakers Guild, a Fellow of the British Horological Institute, and an ICON Accredited Conservator Restorer and ICON Mentor.