A group of enthusiasts have restored and returned an historic crane that was once used in a Wiltshire stone quarry to the city where it was first built nearly 160 years ago.
The Stothert & Pitt Crane Restoration Group have completely re-assembled the six-tonne hand crane on the site in Bath where it was originally made.
The group consisted of Peter Dunn, Arthur Feltham, Varian Tye, Mary Sabina Stacey, Tony Wray, Paul Cooper, Nina Pollard, Mike Dodd, Stuart Burroughs and Geoff Wallis.
The crane was saved from the scrapheap in the 1980s, and was restored in the garden of former Stothert & Pitt engineer Peter Dunn, in Southwick.
Mr Dunn said: “The crane was made circa 1864 and is thought to be the oldest surviving crane built by Stothert & Pitt in the world.
“It demonstrates the industrial history of Bath and a reminder of the stone quarrying history of Box, Wiltshire and the Cotswolds.
“During its working life the crane was used at Pictor`s Wharf near the Great Western Railway and at Clift Quarry on Box Hill.”
The crane was gifted to Bath & North East Somerset for the people of Bath by its previous owners the Bath Stone Quarry Museum Trust, founded by the late David Pollard, owner of Hartham Park Quarry and a historian.
It was rescued in poor condition in the summer of 2018 and was moved to Mr Dunn’s garden in Southwick where the restoration works were carried out by the group.
Mr Dunn added: “Our final restoration activity was to supervise the full assembly by BAM Construction on behalf of B&NES of the complete crane in the former S&P Newark Works on the South Quays site where it was built and tested nearly 160 years ago.
“When the South Quays site is fully open to the public in the spring of 2023 the crane will be a visible reminder of one of the many diverse products of Stothert & Pitt Ltd and a tribute to the many people who worked for the firm until its demise in 1989.”
Funding for the restoration work was supplied by The Bath Stone Quarry Museum Trust, The Association for Industrial Archaeology, The Bristol industrial Archaeological Society, The Cotswolds National Landscape, Hawker Joinery, Stephen Kerrs and Neil Garrett.
Stothert & Pitt was founded in 1855 and made various cast iron items, including several cranes which survive as listed structures on Bristol's harbour-side.
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