Recently we worked on a new build 21 miles to the West of Norwich, in Watton, Norfolk for a private residential customer who was taking on the fantastic task of building their own home. After extensively shopping around, he found BDC Scaffolding and received the best deal in the region. Watton is the smallest of Breckland’s five towns and has a thriving community and fantastic market day on the first Saturday of each month.
An interesting note on this particular project was the use of Putlog scaffolding holes, which are often also referred to as a Bricklayer’s Scaffold. These are small holes built into the side of walls which receive the end of scaffolding poles and take the load of the scaffold structure. This method dates back to ancient Roman buildings (you may have noticed these on older buildings). In older times when wood was used as a support structure, the Putlogs were often sawn off and left to fill the gap in the wall after use. Mostly today the scaffolding is removed and the holes are filled, flush with the rest of the structure. As you may have gathered, it’s one of those instances where the name essentially fills the purpose, as you literally “put logs” into the holes to provide support. The size and spacing of the holes does not affect the strength of the structure.
(Source: http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/1931843)
In the image above you can see a putlog hole remaining in the church wall at Pentney, Norfolk, which is located about half way between King’s Lynn and Swaffam on the A47. It’s common to see them throughout our region on structures such as this, especially in the construction of Church towers. In these instances, many were left open so that routine maintenance could be carried out easier as and when necessary. Nowdays, they make an excellent home to Jackdaws or other local wildlife.
In this instance Pentney church dates back to Norman times and has doubled in length during the 13th & 14th centuries. Close by is the ancient gatehouse of Augustinian Pentney Abbey, which is the largest gatehouse within Norfolk. Interestingly during 1977, 6 Anglo-Saxon brooches from the 9th Century were found in the Churchyard and are now stored in the British Museum. The age of the village itself is unknown, but is suspected to date from at least the 3rd or 4th Centuries. The village itself actually falls into the district of North Norfolk.
If you’d like to know more about this scaffolding type, or are simply looking for a quote, drop us a line and we’ll be more than happy to help.
