Issue 42 summer 24 web - Flipbook - Page 29
Emery Brothers and
the Our Tower Project
at Beckford's Tower
We have been delighted to be involved in the Our Tower project at Beckford’s Tower. As a family business
based in Bath since 1947, we have a long history of contributing to the preservation and restoration of heritage
buildings. Our involvement at Beckford’s Tower goes back to 1997 when my father, Julian Emery led
our team on the structural restoration of the Lantern and conversion of the Tower base to a Museum and
Landmark Trust property. The Our Tower project has built on the work that was carried out 25 years ago,
addressing water ingress issues from intense rainfall caused by climate change, adapting the Tower for
sustainable energy use and linking it to the wider landscape to provide access for all.
Whilst the two projects differ in scope both have required
a willingness to learn and overcome challenges as well as
the ambition to help restore the famous Bath landmark.
We started work on site in May 2023 and completed in
June 2024. The day to day running of the project was led
by our site manager Ben, who was assisted by a small team
of directly employed masons, carpenters and decorators.
Many of the team were able to see the project through
from beginning to end with some of our carpenters going
from repairing the Lantern timber panelling to installing
the break room kitchen and everything in between.
One of the early challenges of the project was the design
and construction of a large fully sheeted scaffold and temporary roof encapsulating the Tower to protect it whilst
works took place. The scaffold was made further complex
by the requirement to span over the Museum building at
the Tower base with a series of beams spanning almost
Above, Beckford's Tower with scaffold
15m. Our scaffold contractor, TRS Group had a team of
6 working to erect the scaffold over 8 weeks, frequently
having to halt work due to strong winds, a common feature on Lansdown in Bath. The wind load factor used in
scaffold design calculations, a critical consideration given
the Tower's exposed location, was the highest ever used
by TRS Group. Ensuring the stability and safety of
the scaffold was paramount, especially considering the
historical significance of the structure.
Once the scaffold erection was complete we were able to
fully inspect the Lantern and Roof structure of the Tower,
something that had not been possible since the previous
project 25 years ago. The original intention was to clean
off the previously gilded elements and touch in the gilding
where necessary however once cleaning trials were
undertaken it became clear that this approach would be
