Not trying to draw any interest away from the OP, which is extremely fascinating..., but early last year I was researching the history of scaffolding… a groan and mumbles of ‘a sad gitt’ do I hear. Steel scaffolding only came about in the 1920s, and before that it was all wooden.
Can you imagine the forest of trees felled to erect a forest of wooden scaffold poles on a building such as Salisbury cathedral, which incidentally is reputed to have been built in 20 years… unlike Ely cathedral taking a reported 200 years? Much of this time is said to be as a result of a lack of scaffold, and trees were being imported from Norway. I had no previous idea there were any history buffs lurking in the corners of RC.
I came here from the BBC history hub when it became apparent it was sinking due to cost cutting… I also contribute to three other history sites… if anyone has any info ref early scaffolding techniques or brick making… I’d be really grateful if you could pass some on to me. It’s not for publication, more for personal use.
I’m sorry to distract, and I am following this thread with interest.
Btw… have you discovered what an ‘overhouse’ is yet, I’m really eager to know.
