The trade of the steeplejack

The steeplejack is a trade that has been around for a long time. As many of the tasks they carry out can be dangerous if not done correctly, it is always important that you are working with a fully trained team who adhere to all health and safety rules, as we do at Heightwise. Scaling tall buildings such as church steeples, clock towers and cooling towers, steeplejacks perform the maintenance and repairs necessary to ensure that tall buildings remain standing.

Though it is difficult to pinpoint the exact beginning of the steeplejack, the business have been around for several centuries. The earliest possible depiction of a steeplejack is actually from the Bayeux Tapestry, showing a man holding a weather vane while climbing the steeple of a church. Regardless of their origins, steeplejacks have been at work for many centuries, committing themselves to dangerous jobs. They were depended on to fix things such as the roofs of churches and clock towers. In modern times, steeplejacks find themselves travelling the country and working on industrial chimneys and cooling towers, as well as old, tall structures, to name just a few. Many steeplejacks now also work as lightning rod installers, as we do.

There are a few different methods a steeplejack will use to reach the top of a building. In one method, a ladder is climbed against the structure. ‘Dogs’, metal hooks, are then knocked into the structure at intermittent points. The ladder is then lashed to these dogs. With the ladder safely erected, a bosun’s chair is often suspended and scaffolding is then built to allow safe access to and around the structure. The bosun’s chair, however, is now often an optional step with many steeplejacks choosing to utilise lightweight abseil equipment instead. A rope-fall-arrest system is used in modern times to reduce the risk of falling when erecting the ladder.

As you can tell, steeplejacks are highly trained individuals. The use of safety equipment is always necessary. As well as repairs, we are often called upon to provide general maintenance to tall structures. This includes everything from painting to cleaning the structure. We may also carry out inspections of tall buildings that may have been damaged.

Our steeplejacks and lightning rod installers are highly trained individuals, fully trained and qualified to carry out their tasks in the safest possible way. We believe that steeplejacks are unsung heroes within industry, carrying out potentially dangerous jobs across the country in order to ensure that buildings are kept well preserved and protected from the threat of lightning. We pride ourselves on carrying this respected trade on and will continue to do so for many years to come.