Summary

Early C18 crane, moved to present site in 1930.

Full description

`House crane' erected at a cost of 392 pounds in 1666-1667 at the Naval Yard by order of the Duke of York. It was operated on the tread wheel principle, men walking inside two wheels of 16' diameter. <1> <2> 3 photos in SMR. <3> Moved to present site in 1932. Crane is worked by two wheels and a projecting jib. Building is weatherboarded. Roof originally boarded, now has pantile. All enclosed in stout iron fence. <4> Old Navy Yard bell, inscribed John Darby 1666 with stamp CR, is hung in the crane house. <5> Treadwheel crane on Harwich Green. <6> <7>
Site Management: = The crane originally stood in the Naval Yard. In c1928 this yard passed into the hands of the Harwich Conservancy Board who, wishing to develop the yard for commercial purposes, offered the crane as a gift to Harwich Town Council, and it was dismantled and re-erected on the northern edge of Harwich Green in 1932. <2> It was scheduled as SAM 72 in 1948. <1> The date of construction of the crane has been a subject of speculation for many years, some believing that it was made in the seventeenth century. more recent studies have suggested that it was contemporaneous with the wheelhouse.Tree ring analysis revealed that both crane and wheelhouse used very fast-grown oaks with few annual rings. Only two samples were able to be dated, one from the crane jib and the other from the wheelhouse. The wheelhouse timber was most likely felled in the period 1739-69 AD and the jib timber most likely felled between 1792-1824 AD. There is no evidence to support either the contemporaneity of the wheelhouse and crane, nor their possible 17th century origin. <9>
The scheduled monument includes a 17th century harbour crane, relocated in 1932, (when the dockyard area was redeveloped), and now situated near the eastern shore of the Harwich Peninsula. The crane is housed in a rectangular structure, measuring 8m by 4.5m with the boom or jib protruding from the eastern (seaward) end. The timber framed housing has four bays (some parts indicating the reuse of ships timbers).Shiplapped weatherboards cover the lower two thirds of the structure with open frmaes beneath the hipped roof. The roof is now tiled although before it was relocated the roof was of timber. The pair of 5m diameter spoked wooden treadwheels are carried on a central north-south axle. The man-powered wheels would have wound an iron chain. The crane is thought to have been erected in 1667 on the orders of the Duke of York. It originally stood some 200m to the north. <10>
According to source <2> it is thought to be 17th century rather than 18th as in 1774 'capstan' technology was in use.

Site Assessment = Probably the only remaining example of the application of treadwheels to a crane. <5>

General description and background information <11>

Drawings and photos by Cecil Hewett <12>

Recording of the crane and repairs were carried out in 1999. <13>

7 b/w photos of crane taken in 1999<14>

20 photos (most with duplicates) taken by BJC on 22/6/99 of crane and timbers during repair.<15>

7 colour slides taken 1999. <16>

<1> unknown, 1960 0nwards, SMR form unknown (DESC TEXT). SEX4.

<2> Clark, DW, 1933, The Harwich Crane, Vol 42, pp1-15 (DESC TEXT). SEX460.

<3> Hedges, John D, 1975, TM23-001, 3 frames (Photograph). SEX461.

<4> HBMC, 1986, DOE Scheduled Ancient Monuments, Parts 5-8 (Scheduling record). SEX167.

<5> unknown, 1972, List of Buildings of Special Architectural or Historic Interest:Harwich, pp20-21 (DESC TEXT). SEX462.

<6> Booker, J, 1971, The Harwich Crane (DESC TEXT). SEX463.

<7> Medlycott, Maria, 1999, Harwich: Historic Town Assessment Report (DESC TEXT). SEX53937.

<8> unknown, 1970-1993 c., ECC Historic Buildings Photo Print Archive, 1 frame (Photograph). SEX56253.

<9> Bridge, MC, 2000, Tree-Ring Analysis of Timbers From The Harwich Crane & Wheelhouse, Harwich. AMLR 2/2000 (DESC TEXT). SEX59458.

<10> English Heritage, 2000, The Harwich Treadwheel Crane - SM 29440 (Scheduling record). SEX59753.

<11> unknown, unknown, The Harwich Crane (DESC TEXT). SEX64019.

<12> Hewett, C, unknown, Drawings and photos (Graphic material). SEX64020.

<13> Various, 1998-1999, Correspondance and records relating to the recording and repair of the Harwich Crane (CORRESPONDENCE). SEX64021.

<14> Hillman-Crouch, Barry, 1999, 7 b/w photos of Harwich crane timbers (Photograph). SEX64026.

<15> Crouch, BJ, 1999, 20 colour photos of crane and timbers during repair 22/6/1999 (Photograph). SEX64027.

<16> unknown, 1999, 7 colour slides of crane 1999 (Photograph). SEX64028.

<17> Andrews, DD, Crouch, BJ and Stenning, DF, 2000, The Harwich Crane, Harwich, Essex (DESC TEXT). SEX59841.

<18> unknown, 1970-1993 c., ECC Historic Buildings Photo Print Archive, 1 frame, 11/1990 (Photograph). SEX56253.

<19> Saunders, Helen, 2021, EX21/08/038 (AP (Digital)). SEX74977.

Monument Types

• CRANE HOUSE (17th ? / 18th, Post Medieval to 21st Century - 1666 AD? to 2050 AD)
• TREADWHEEL CRANE (17th century ?, Post Medieval to 21st Century - 1666 AD? to 2050 AD)

Associated Events

• PART SURVEY by Booker, J, 1971 (Ref: ?)
• Field visit to 52 by Hedges, JD, CAO on APR-1975 (Ref: ?)
• Field visit to 52 by Paterson, H, FMW on OCT-1981 (Ref: FMW Oct 1981)
• Field visit to 52 by Corbishley, M J, FMW on JAN-1984 (Ref: FMW Jan 1984)
• Harwich Crane (Ref: ?)
• Dendro samples at Harwich Crane (Ref: ?)
• Field visit to 52 by Paterson, H, FMW on MAY-1987 (Ref: FMW)
• Field visit to 52 by Paterson, H, FMW on MAY-1990 (Ref: FMW)

Protected Status

• Scheduled Monument () 1017202: The Harwich Treadwheel Crane
• Listed Building (EH) (II*) 1187899: OLD NAVAL YARD CRANE
• Conservation Area: Harwich

Sources and further reading

Images

No image description available © Essex County Council	No image description available © Essex County Council
The Harwich Treadwheel Crane, Harwich, Tendring © Essex County Council	The Harwich Treadwheel Crane, Harwich, Tendring © Essex County Council
The Harwich Treadwheel Crane, Harwich, Tendring © Essex County Council	The Harwich Treadwheel Crane, Harwich, Tendring © Essex County Council

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