Friends Lighten the Load
How many Cathedral Vergers does it take to change a light bulb? Not as many as it used to now that the Friends of Rochester Cathedral have presented them with a hydraulic “cherry picker”.
The hoist, which cost £12,000, was officially presented to the cathedral by Colin Hoad, the new president of the Friends, and Bob Ratcliffe, the retiring chairman.
Head Verger, Colin Tolhurst said “We used to have to put up a tower which could take all morning if we wanted to change the light bulbs because they are so high up. Now it will take just half an hour”.
The hoist is battery powered and can be pushed to any part of the cathedral. There is even a device to enable it to climb up staircases. Staff have had to undergo training in order to use the new device safely, and the machine meets modern safety standards. Mr Tolhurst said “It will be useful for many jobs around the cathedral. It will save us time and enable us to get a lot more done. For instance, we can now get to clean the tops of some of the monuments more easily”.
Photograph and text by permission of the Kent Messenger Group