Who invented scaffolding?
It is hard to walk down the street these days without seeing a building with scaffolding erected on it. It is such a normal presence that we go about our normal lives without giving it a second thought. Scaffolding has been used since the first structures were built however it has come a long way since then. Here we will explore its history and how it became an irreplaceable industry today.
Archaeologists found evidence of scaffolding next to cave paintings in France originating a whopping 17,000 years ago. Sockets in walls showed that people made a structure that is somewhat similar to scaffolding to reach difficult access areas of the painting and here, scaffolding was born.
It is also thought that ancient Egyptians used scaffolding made from wood to create buildings that are associated with the pyramids. ‘The stones used for construction were lifted by a short wooden scaffold. Then they were laid on another scaffold for the first steps of the staircase. They were then laid on another scaffold to be raised to the second step’ one Greek historian wrote.
Then during the Medieval times, monks were trained specially to build abbeys and churches with the use of scaffolding. Some of the United Kingdom’s finest abbey’s such as Buckfast Abbey were built by scaffolder monks and this trend continued until the 20th century.
Metal scaffolding poles were introduced in the early 1900s. Before this, they would lash lengths of bamboo together with hemp rope to create and erect a scaffolding frame. Although bamboo is lightweight in comparison to metal it is still sturdy enough to support the weight of workers and equipment and it has a plus point that no machinery is needed to assemble the scaffold. Today the use of rope to tie wooden poles together to form scaffolding is still used across Eastern countries.
In the 1900’s a man named Daniel Palmer-Jones who is known as the ‘Grandfather of scaffolding’ realised that new metal poles would quite often slip when tied together with rope. He and his brother David understood that a set of fixings would be a much better way of securing metal and wooden poles. They conducted multiple experiments until they finally created “Rapid Scaffixers” which was the basis of their Rapid Scaffold Tie company. Their creation won them the contract to use their scaffolding system for the remodelling of Buckingham Palace in 1913.
This short history of scaffolding is interesting to see how it developed over the years from the caves of France to the walls of Royal houses. Today, there are strict working regulations that continue how the scaffolding industry operates so that safety is a top priority. At Scaffolding for Swansea, we are proud to share this priority too which is why our staff are highly trained in health & safety. If you require any scaffolding advise or would like a free quote for scaffolding hire Swansea then please get in contact with us and we will be happy to assist you.
Archaeologists found evidence of scaffolding next to cave paintings in France originating a whopping 17,000 years ago. Sockets in walls showed that people made a structure that is somewhat similar to scaffolding to reach difficult access areas of the painting and here, scaffolding was born.
It is also thought that ancient Egyptians used scaffolding made from wood to create buildings that are associated with the pyramids. ‘The stones used for construction were lifted by a short wooden scaffold. Then they were laid on another scaffold for the first steps of the staircase. They were then laid on another scaffold to be raised to the second step’ one Greek historian wrote.
Then during the Medieval times, monks were trained specially to build abbeys and churches with the use of scaffolding. Some of the United Kingdom’s finest abbey’s such as Buckfast Abbey were built by scaffolder monks and this trend continued until the 20th century.
Metal scaffolding poles were introduced in the early 1900s. Before this, they would lash lengths of bamboo together with hemp rope to create and erect a scaffolding frame. Although bamboo is lightweight in comparison to metal it is still sturdy enough to support the weight of workers and equipment and it has a plus point that no machinery is needed to assemble the scaffold. Today the use of rope to tie wooden poles together to form scaffolding is still used across Eastern countries.
In the 1900’s a man named Daniel Palmer-Jones who is known as the ‘Grandfather of scaffolding’ realised that new metal poles would quite often slip when tied together with rope. He and his brother David understood that a set of fixings would be a much better way of securing metal and wooden poles. They conducted multiple experiments until they finally created “Rapid Scaffixers” which was the basis of their Rapid Scaffold Tie company. Their creation won them the contract to use their scaffolding system for the remodelling of Buckingham Palace in 1913.
This short history of scaffolding is interesting to see how it developed over the years from the caves of France to the walls of Royal houses. Today, there are strict working regulations that continue how the scaffolding industry operates so that safety is a top priority. At Scaffolding for Swansea, we are proud to share this priority too which is why our staff are highly trained in health & safety. If you require any scaffolding advise or would like a free quote for scaffolding hire Swansea then please get in contact with us and we will be happy to assist you.