Southernhay United Reform Church, Exeter This 150ft spire serves as a prominent landmark at the top of Southernhay in Exeter. Originally a Victorian addition to a much older church, the latter was lost during the Second World War whilst the spire remained and now stands at the north end of the 1950’s concrete framed church. The stone to the spire had started to fracture where embedded metal had corroded. The practice undertook a condition and structural survey off ropes with Mann Williams, the structural engineers, and specified the work required. This received an English Heritage/Heritage Lottery Fund Grant. The project was challenging and involved designing scaffold that would not place any load on the spire and also withstand winter weather. Particular attention was paid to the rate and sequence of stone removal to replace the corroded cramps while maintaining structural stability for the spire as a whole. The scaffold was designed to move/sway up to 40cm on the highest working platform.
