Summary

Tubular jib crane, dating to around 1865, re-sited to its present location in 1901.

Description

Tubular jib crane, dating to around 1865, re-sited to its present location in 1901.

MATERIALS: wrought iron plates.

PLAN: a curved jib sunk into circular hole in the quayside with a deep, straight counterweight secured to the base of the quayside.

DESCRIPTION: the crane has a curved (‘swan-neck’) box-section jib of riveted wrought-iron plates. At its base are the original gearing cogs, cable drum and brake, partially enclosed by iron-plate safety covers. Beneath is a later small electric motor. The hoist cable is fed over the top of the jib on guiding wheels to the hook suspended from the apex.

History

The Guild or Brotherhood of Masters and Pilots, Seamen of the Trinity House of Kingston upon Hull, started as a religious guild in 1369 and became a guild of mariners in the mid C15. They became responsible for buoying and navigation aids in the Humber from around 1512.

In 1901 the Buoyage Committee of Trinity House commissioned a new buoy shed on the east bank of the River Hull to replace an 1841 buoy shed which stood on the west side of Trinity House, adjacent to Junction Dock, renamed Prince’s Dock in 1845. A tubular crane originally built around 1865 was relocated at this time to stand adjacent to the river and the north-west corner of the new buoy shed; it is not known whether it was relocated from Prince’s Dock or elsewhere. This type of crane was patented in 1850 by the structural engineer Sir William Fairbairn. Fairbairn had assisted Robert Stephenson with the design of tubular bridges over the Menai Strait and River Conwy in Wales. He utilised the same understanding of the mechanics of the box girder used in the design of the bridges in the construction of his jib crane. Wrought iron plates were riveted together in a cellular construction with the back, or convex, side holding the tension and the front, or concave, side resisting the compression. Both the height of the winch and the direction of the crane could be controlled by hand. The cranes were built by the Fairbairn Engineering Company of Manchester, but the design was also licensed to other makers and the Hull crane does not have a maker’s plate. The Hull crane was designed to lift ten tons and to swivel through 360 degrees. It had manual gearing and a brake and was later fitted with an electrical motor.

Reasons for Listing

The tubular crane of around 1865, relocated in 1901 to stand at the north-west corner of the former Trinity House Buoy Shed, is listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:

Architectural interest:
* the crane is a good, intact example of a Fairbairn-type crane constructed with a box-section jib of riveted wrought-iron plates;

* the crane is an increasingly rare C19 survival of this specific type of crane, which was patented in 1850.

Historic interest:
* the reputed structural engineer Sir William Fairbairn used his knowledge of box girders for bridge construction to design an improved crane with a curved jib particularly suited to loading and unloading ship’s holds.

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q26558692

External links are from the relevant listing authority and, where applicable, Wikidata. Wikidata IDs may be related buildings as well as this specific building. If you want to add or update a link, you will need to do so by editing the Wikidata entry.

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