A weather vane which caused Keswick town centre to be sealed off to the public for a time last month after it began wobbling in high winds has been removed from the top of the Moot Hall this week.
Scaffolding was erected and a crane brought in to lift the six foot tall steel structure, estimated to weigh about 150kg, or 23 stones, off the historic building on Monday.
Tony Lywood, chairman of the Battersby Hall Trust, which owns the building, said all went well and the roof is now weather tight.
“Two engineers appointed by the loss adjuster attended proceedings and were content that the failure was not associated with the work completed earlier,” said Mr Lywood. “As it happened, the central rod was bent, not snapped, so that’s what kept it on the roof during the storm.
“It is pretty certain that the metal fatigue would have eventually caused it to snap if Keswick Scaffolding had not secured it when they did.
“We have agreed that we should attempt to remove the bent rod, if at all possible, as it will make reconnection much simpler. With the conservation officer we will find a new method of connection.
“We have also been advised that the lead is removed from the top of the king post so that the strength of the timber work and rafter connections can be checked and relied upon for the future.
“We will instruct this also and keep Rose Lord, the conservation officer at the Lake District National Park Association, abreast of our deliberations. The loss adjuster’s engineers concurred with this approach as this is now a claim for storm damage.”
Mr Lywood said Stobbarts Ltd of Workington, the main contractor, did a great job.
“There was only one lady who insisted on walking through the loading area emitting Anglo-Saxon expletives as the crane worked overhead – there was just no stopping her!” he said. “All other visitors behaved themselves and understood why they should walk the other way around the hall.”
The removal of the weather vane comes less than a year after £100,000 of work to the building – including reconstructing the vane – were unveiled last December.
