Client: Weald & Downland Museum – John Smiths timber yard crane

If you go down to the woods today…

Last Autumn we went up into the Downs behind the Singleton open air museum to dismantle a 150 year old timber framed crane. And we’ve been looking forward to putting it back up ever since! Over the winter the old rotten timber sections were carefully removed from the antique metal components and new ones made. So on a crisp February morning the various elements were brought together with the associated craftsman, and the painstaking process of reassembly on to the original pad stones could begin. Our trusty 4×4 ‘Mule’ was on site with Tony Hill at the controls. Even though Spring was in our nostrils, the daylight was burning so work had to continue at a decent rhythm.

Being able to get up into the tree line and right next to the job, meant that we had plenty of reach on the Palfinger crane.

By sun down John Smiths contraption was back in the air and everyone was satisfied with a job well done.

During the debrief Tony paid his respects to the original team that must have put it up, because as he pointed out, we certainly wouldn’t have had a Hiab big enough in about 1850…well not quite anyway.