THE iconic chiming quarter boys were removed from their home in Carfax Tower yesterday.

The figures’ blue, scarlet and gold paintwork will be restored in a £35,000 revamp, along with the tower’s bells, clock hands and mechanism.

Andrew Hicks, installation engineer from specialist clockmaker’s workshop Smith of Derby, said: “We have removed the two boys, which are very heavy.

“We are also removing the two bells and the steel work.

“We are removing the clock hands for restoration and everything is going to our workshop in Derby where the figures are going to be restored to their original colours and the gilded areas with gold leaf.”

He added: “It is a very exciting place to work on in the middle of Oxford with it being so iconic.”

The figures strike the chimes every 15 minutes at the Oxford tourist attraction, which is why they are called “quarter boys,” and they have not been restored since they were installed in the 1960s.

The previous figures are on display in the Explore Oxford museum at the Town Hall.