The History of Scaffolding

1860 Scaffold, London

Here is a photo from 1860 showing construction of the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.

It shows very clearly the Scarf Joints on the Wooden Uprights.

Note also the length of ladders.....probably in excess of 30 feet!


ConstructiontVAmuseum1860.jpg
 
Commonly used in construction, scaffolding is a temporary structure used to support workers and materials during construction or repair. Since its original release, scaffolding has undergone a series of changes and developments.
 
Here is an interesting photo from 1925

Here is an interesting photo from 1925:

It shows a Scaffold around the Eros statue in London....note again the very long ladder.

Eros1925.jpg
 
The photo below shows a large Wooden Pole Scaffold erected on a construction project in London in 1930.


ConstructionofLondonbuilding1930.jpg




The next photo shows a different aspect of the same project, but this time using Steel Tubular Scaffolding.

Band and Plate is used here - note the long, crossed Sway Braces (as in the style of the old wooden scaffolds) - attached to Standards with Butts...(no Swivels).


Insetofconstruction2.jpg
 
wire lashings where used in erecting hangers in cinemas ,quite tricky when dismantling swinging around like (burt lancaster) thats for the older generation,not so long ago that they stopped using them, if they have ,agree with you Garry using the telegraph poles was no fun , Palmers had a cradle division in Manchester but it was horses for courses with them lads they made it look easy ,but i was never happy with them,
 
apart from a few extra tubes them scaffolds didnt look that bad for the 1930s ive seen worse jobs now on me travels ha ha
 
400KV said:
apart from a few extra tubes them scaffolds didnt look that bad for the 1930s ive seen worse jobs now on me travels ha ha
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In those days, me old mate, you went and learned on the job......no Training School or poofy Elf n Safety.....proper Scaffolders :D



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i will second that charlie (respect)
 
Quite right Charlie. Even when the CITB and the training first started people entered the industry because they actually wanted to. Now it seems its the jobcentres sending people on courses to get their figures down.
Currently we employ trained scaffolders here who are very professional. Now companies are employing anyone and paying them half the wages our guys get. Consequently our tenders are not so competitive. Clients although preferring a quality service are governed by costs.We lose tenders, have to make skilled men redundant thus leaving the industry here over populated with less skilled but cheaper labour. Sound familiar?
 
Perfectly true.

We used to have a manufacturing industry in Great Britain....then someone realised labour was cheaper in Third World countries....

Now China has all the money.......and we borrow from them........:mad::evil::eek:
 
Charlie said:
Here is a photo from 1860 showing construction of the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.

It shows very clearly the Scarf Joints on the Wooden Uprights.

Note also the length of ladders.....probably in excess of 30 feet!


ConstructiontVAmuseum1860.jpg
Click to expand...

I'm loving the top hats,i wonder if they wore a chinstrap:laugh:
 
Another piece of usless information for you guys..........I believe a standard 2" steel scaffold tube is formed from 6" flat bar, hence the reason why the dimension is 29/32"
 
WoW! Amazing.. About the Scaffolding in the Victorian era.
Getting best information about Scaffolding in victorian era.
 
Charlie said:
Yes, I was thinking of the regular Drop Forged 7/16 Double where the Bolt screwed into the body..........that Nut was so shallow the Spanner was always flying off...:eek:

The bigger, older Doubles that they had we called Bombs and a lot of those had a Dropped Gate. A useful fitting that I think was unique to Big Ben was the Parallel Coupler.....used to Lap (Splice) tubes together in the same way as you would with a Band and Plate.

They also had an unusual Single, the Wrapover.......this would only go on if you were fixing two tubes together.........as opposed to the modern Half Wrap, whereby you can attach it to a single tube, for Toe Boards etc.....

They had their own Fabrication Shop in the Big Ben Yard and the huge Beams that tied the top of the Scaffold together on the top of St.Pauls were designed and made there. They also made the Spanner Handles there........I lost my own flat handled spanner many moons ago.
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Didn't Big Ben do them sleeve spigot fittings? Only had one bolt but had a solid pin and a sleeve bit wrapping the tube. Saw many a young Scaff hit on the head by a ledger when striking not realising Big Ben doubles had a drop gate!
 
Charlie said:
Here is an interesting photo from 1925:

It shows a Scaffold around the Eros statue in London....note again the very long ladder.

Eros1925.jpg
Click to expand...


Nice piece of scaffolding??

By the way the statue referred to as Eros is in fact Anteros who was Eros brother.
 
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alilamont said:
Hi, I am new to this forum and come to it with some very particular needs. I too was a scaffolder and spent seven years loving everyday I was fixing!! Now though I am in the third year of an architectural degree but am still in love with scaffolding!! (Does anyone else dream about scaffolding?? I am always pinching my girlfriend's back and twisting her skin as if I was doing up a fitting with my fingers!!) As part of the third year we have to write a dissertation and I really want to focus my question on scaffolding. I was hoping to understand how scaffolding has maybe changed over the years ( If what I have researched is true, there was even evidence of scaffolding on the Pyramids!!) I need to find litreature or evidence of historical applications of scaffolding and if possible I would like to find some litreature that supports any findings. Unfortunatly scaffolding is not the most written about subject and I am finding it hard to source any credable information. I also want to explore the possibility that scaffolding has now infact become an accepted feature/extension of our built environment. There are so many examples of scaffolding being utilised for more than just working at heights.. artists and designers have now also turned to scaffolding as a form of artwork if you will. Ben Long | Scaffolding Sculptures
I would be interested to know your thoughts and feelings on the matter, and whether you think scaffolding can infact be a thing of beauty. Also, any information or links relevant to the subject would be gratefully appreciated!!
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There was a recent exhibition at the Tate Modern that featured scaffolding.

Here in Ireland the IMMA (Irish Museum of Modern Art) has just finished features that involved scaffolding frameworks
 
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