The Jewel House at the Tower of London looks even better now that PAYE Stonework & Restoration have finished two years of cleaning and repairing.

The work had to be carried out without disrupting the constant stream of visitors coming to see the Crown Jewels, which meant covered entranceways and boxed in scaffolding had to be erected , especially while PAYE operatives were working inside the Waterloo Block.

The Tower of London has housed the Crown Jewelssince 1303, although the present Jewel House was not built until the 1840s. Like the rest of the Tower of London, it is built of Kentish ragstone.

Part of the building also incorporates Anston limestone (used for the Houses of Parliament), which is no longer quarried. PAYE retained as much of all original materials as possible, but where the Anston needed replacing White Mansfield, generally recognised as a suitable match, was used.

Another unique requirement of the contract was for PAYE to devise a protective covering for a pair of historic cannons that flank the entrance to the Jewel House.

The culmination of the project will be the presentation by PAYE of a swagger stick they found within the walls while they were carrying out the work to the Yeoman Body (the beefeaters who guard the Tower).