The History of Scaffolding

Charlie said:
Interesting pics again RedViking........thanks mate :bigsmile:

These photos are from the early fifties when the Big Ben Clocktower was scaffolded and you can clearly see the old Big Ben Bombs......the huge Doubles they used at that time.

Strangely enough the firm was called Steel Scaffolding when that job was contracted but afterwards they changed the name to Big Ben Scaffolding.
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I got the images of getty.com and the picture with the scaffolder in says on the website 1936 ?? i have more old pics i will make a album and put it into the "pictures & video " section as soon as pal :)
 
red viking the pictures are good theres a load on flickr to dunno if you have had a look
 
Hello to all!

Enjoyed the picture of the wooden pole birdcage scaffolding that is posted by Charlie Scaffolder. Nice bit of history there mate. Have been in the game since 1966. Started oout on Ellis Richards then went on to Hines, Palmers, Stevens & Carter, Tasker & Booth and Peter Cox. Did plenty of cradles with Poles and Bonds and was taught by one of the best cradlehands of the 1960's. Dennis Wu. By the Gerry, it was EDWIN J. Palmer whom invented the traveling cradles. I have been writing a book on estimating and product knowledge that has some great historical knowledge on all the scaffolding terminology, should be published next year.
cheers
Mickey Marks
 
Charlie said:
Those were the days, my friend......we thought they'd never end,
Oh yes,....... those were the days.........

Here is a good example of Scaffolding in the Victorian era:

woodenscaffold.jpg


Some of our ancestors are posing for a rare photo on a Birdcage Scaffold of the period.
Note that the method of extending the Standards was known as Scarfing (from the Scarf Joint). This may explain why
the height of the tube that you are Hemping onto (or Topping, if you are a Northener) is known as the Scarf.......

One Scaff to another dialogue: "I was hemping 21's on a five foot Scarf......!"

The term Hemping may come from the material that was often used for lashing the wooden poles together: Hemp Rope.
Other ropes that were used were Manilla and Sisal, until eventually Wire Bonds were used.

The main lashings (knots) being the Square Lashing
(which is still used, as the preferred method of tying a ladder) and the Sheer Lashing which was used to join poles in parallel, particularly the uprights.

If anyone else has any knowledge of the history of scaffolding it would be interesting to hear .......... I have used wooden poles in the 60's
in London, but only for Cradles.......... and it was always good to hear tales from the Old Boys .....
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Me Dad put that up !
 
i use to work with an old craddle hand that use to use poles and wire lashings

i learnt alot from that man i tell ya
 
Leechs were the last company i saw using 'rope and pole' to kick it off they had 2 45 gallon drums full of sand with a std in each, from there they lashed there 1st ledger on, history after that;)
 
I remember in not much detail an article that I read that the 1st scaffold structures in europe were a basic form of putlok that were popular during the great boom in the construction of Cathedrals. From memory they were basically logs built into the fabric of the building then planked out accordingly, when they were removed the masons would fill the putlock hole with face stone. Corfe Castle not too far from where I live does show on its outer walls where the finished stone has fallen away, a continuous series of sizable holes do remain, possibly the original putlok holes?

I believe Salisbury Cathedral does have a diarama based on known records and archeology around that site that shows the use of putlok as a means of transporting men and materials during construction
 
There is a wooden scaffold on a church in germany thats been up about 600 years. It even survived the bombing of the 2nd world war. It's now a protected structure. Maybe someone could post a picture of it.
 
rope and pole

paddy carr said:
Leechs were the last company i saw using 'rope and pole' to kick it off they had 2 45 gallon drums full of sand with a std in each, from there they lashed there 1st ledger on, history after that;)
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Alreet Paddy, you got there before me! yeh Leech the builders were the last ones i can remember, when i was at bircham newton in the seventys they had Leechs scaffolders still being shown rope and pole! a bucket of water with the lengths of rope in so when it dried out after being attached,, f..k me it was solid!!! i think to dismantle, an axe or bloody sharp knife was the order of the day,Scootay
 
Very interesting lads. All this is way before my time. The wooden pole scaffolding pic from 19th century, great pic. Never seen anything like it. Fascinating.
I've seen a few of the big Ben doubles, great heavy things if they're the ones I'm thinking of
 
I love the hemps, band and plate with a butt.... anyone fancy high hempin a long this way?
 
Where did leech the builders come from ?
 
scaffy said:
Where did leech the builders come from ?
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Gods Country


William Leech started his working life as an apprentice, based at Swan Hunter Shipyards in 1918. Having completed his apprenticeship unfortunately lost his job during the 1920’s depression. He then joined his father in his local Scotswood and Benwell window cleaning business rising to become President of the West End Window Cleaners Federation by 1929.

His first steps in house building started in 1930 leading to large scale building operations in 1932, at the height of the depression – his ambition from the start had been to provide affordable housing for those sections of society who had never before been able to contemplate home ownership.

In 1960 William Leech created two charitable trusts, William Leech Investments and William Leech Foundation, principally to benefit five religious charities. These charitable trusts curren tly have combined assets of over £70million creatin g a constant income for the five charitable beneficiaries.

In 1972 William Leech created a separate charity, the William Leech Property Trust, and donated to it some 300 tenanted properties he had personally acquired and managed over the years. This Trust had separate and distinct objects, namely the support of charitable works through registered charities working in Northumberland, Tyne and Wear and County Durham. In 1988 the Trust became known as The William Leech Charity.

Most of the properties of the Trust have been sold over the years and the money invested in an investment portfolio of stocks and shares which is actively managed by the trustees. In 2007 combined assets totaled some £14.5million creating a distributable income of some £ 400,000 for North East Charities.

William Leech died in 1990 at the age of 90 and was posthumously awarded a Knighthood in the New Years Honours List for his charitable works.
 
spannerbitch said:
I love the hemps, band and plate with a butt.... anyone fancy high hempin a long this way?
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Not had to do the hemping bit but years ago on the Magnus we were doing a design job that had 32 foot droppers spliced wi band and plate and a 3 foot tube. That gives the veins in your neck a workout.
 
56 lb Weights

paul b said:
think u will fin you needed 2x 56lb cradle weights on back end of all needles not 1.
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Hello Mate,

I haven't been on here for quite a while, (too busy with other things) but pleased to see this thread still going......

I can assure you though, that for a simple Laydown , one 56 pound weight was sufficient and all that was normally attached to the end of the pole.

Most of the time we would use three Needles or Jibs per 20 feet of cradle track for a Travelling Cradle, with one 1/2 cwt weight on the end of each 20 - 22 foot wooden pole.

However, when I worked for Peter Cox's (South London) in the '60's it was customary to use only two Outriggers or Jibs per 20' of cradle track.......and I'm pleased to say: "It worked!"......;)
 
Nice to see you back Charlie. I've missed your posts.
 
Peter cox ? Anything to do with nigel cox

Missed ya band and plate pics charlie
 
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