Dr Andy Brown, Cllr Lora Peacey-Wilcox and Jon Fisher. Picture by Jennifer Burton.
THE hammerhead crane, which has made an iconic contribution to Cowes for almost 100 years, is now in need of a lift itself.
It may be purely symbolic of dockyard days gone by, of a time when Island men built proud ships at the yard of J. Samuel White, but as an industrial structure marking a time when the River Medina had a shipyard industry, it is unique.
It is also the last surviving crane of its type in England. But its future hangs in the balance.
So valued is the crane by English Heritage, the conservation organisation used it last week as the high-profile focus of its campaign for this country to do more to honour our industrial heritage.
The parlous, rusting state of the crane, which English Heritage highlighted as so bad it could plummet into the Medina, has come about since it ceased to be used as a working, 80-ton machine just seven years ago.
It was to have been restored as a prominent feature in the prestige waterfront development planned by multi-millionaire yachtsman Peter Harrison but that sank in the economic downturn.
The development never happened and neither did the restoration.
And the trust established by the businessman has remained silent on why the crane has not been maintained, despite being highlighted by the heritage organisation.
The IW Council did not escape harsh English Heritage criticism either, the organisation’s planning director for the region, Dr Andy Brown, accusing the authority of “faffing around” while the crane crumbles.
Six years ago, the IW Council gave its support to a listed building consent application by the owner to undertake repair work. It was never done, the permission lapsed in 2008 and the crane was placed on English Heritage’s At Risk Register.
The council also says it has, for three years, urged the Harrison Trust to repair the structure, which it has owned for about ten years.
That does not go far enough for English Heritage, which pointed to the fact only the IW Council had the power to serve an urgent repairs notice on Mr Harrison’s organisation and, if it does not comply, carry out the work itself.
English Heritage even offered the council £80,000 to fund emergency repairs and pointed to the council being able to reclaim its costs from the trust.
But the authority does not wish to become embroiled. Effectively, it said it did not want to start pouring cash into a money pit.
IW Council cabinet member for the economy and the environment, George Brown, said: “We are advised by English Heritage this crane is owned by the Harrison Trust and we call on the trust to carry out the necessary repair work to safeguard the immediate future of the structure.
“Unfortunately, at a time when the council is having to make many very difficult decisions about services, it cannot justify significant expenditure to commission, oversee and contribute to specialist work on a structure it does not own.
“This is particularly true given that crane is likely to require significant further investment in the coming years.”
But the authority’s chosen path appeared to be out of kilter with ward councillor Lora Peacey-Wilcox, who was seeking clarification from officers over why nothing concrete had been done.
“The crane is a bit like Marmite. People either like it or loathe it, but there is no doubt spending a bit of money now — providing it is not council tax payers’ — could save a lot later and help preserve it,” said Cllr Peacey-Wilcox.
The council did say it had been working alongside English Heritage to assist the volunteers of the Hammerhead Crane Trust produce a condition survey and conservation plan.
But the council appeared not to be exactly shoulder-to-shoulder now with its former allies, with English Heritage running out of patience and the crane trust joining in criticism, not only of Harrison but the council too.
The group of enthusiastic volunteers making up the Cowes Hammerhead Crane Trust pledged to aid its survival.
“We want not only to preserve the crane structure but also to inspire young people to consider careers in heritage-related fields, such as craftsmanship, restoration and engineering,” said chairman Jon Fisher.
“The crane is an important landmark, which should be used by the whole community. It is a waterfront attraction of which to be proud.
“But we need help. The crane requires urgent repairs. The trust now urges the IW Council to take all actions within its powers to ensure this iconic crane is saved and restored.”
It is protected by grade II* listed status and if it was to fall into the Medina, there are powers to insist the owner picks up the pieces and put them together again — and that would be at huge expense.
Dr Brown has been buoyed-up by the public response to English Heritage’s campaign. He said it placed the ball even more firmly in the council’s court.
“The response to our Industrial Heritage at Risk campaign has been really positive. We have clearly struck a chord with people and they are showing a real interest in the industrial sites we’ve highlighted to be at risk near them, said Dr Brown.
“We think this shows just how important industrial heritage, including the crane, is in telling the story of Britain — and that’s why it should be saved.”
If the crane could speak, it would certainly have a few stories to tell as well.
Designed by Babcock and Wilcox and engineered in Renfrewshire, it was key to White’s ability to fit out warships at a yard established by John Samuel White as part of his shipbuilding empire at Cowes.
It was used to help build a flotilla of smaller ships and, during white-hot production in the two world wars, a total of 53 destroyers.
Of those, only HMS Cavalier survives, in Chatham, Kent, and White’s most famous ship, the Polish destroyer ORP Blyskawica — credited as helping save Cowes from German air raid — at Gdynia.
The rest have all gone to the scrapyard.
Preservationists are determined the crane should not follow in their wake.
Reporter: richardw@iwcpmail.co.uk