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Status as a Scheduled Ancient Monument
On 2 February 1978, the Department for the Environment designated the Fairbairn Crane as a Scheduled Ancient Monument, legally on a par with Dover Castle and Stonehenge. The official designation highlights that the crane is a significant example of the box girder design patented by Sir William Fairbairn, which, being relatively light in weight and unobstructed by a diagonal stay, could reach further into the hold of a ship and lift heavier loads than previous cranes. It also notes that the crane is unusual in still being in its original setting. Curiously, the designation omits to record that the crane is the sole surviving “Fairbairn Crane” in Britain to have been manufactured by the Fairbairn Engineering Company itself. Other crane-makers used Sir William Fairbairn’s design under licence and later, after the expiry of his patent, freely. The cranes that survive at Bristol and Hull were both built in this way by others.
The sole surviving crane in Britain that was built by the Fairbairn Engineering Company, rather than by someone else under licence.
Globally, Dover’s crane is not unique. Three of the dozen or so Fairbairn Cranes that survive in overseas ports are believed similarly to have been manufactured by the Fairbairn Engineering Company.
As it exists today, the crane is not entirely original. Various components have been changed over the years and, as the Fairbairn Engineering Company ceased trading less than a decade after the crane was erected, these have mostly been sourced from elsewhere. As early as 1878, new chain was bought from Brown Lenox & Co at Millwall; and in 1886 replacement wheels were bought from Stothert & Pitt Limited of Bath (one of the unsuccessful bidders for the original contract to the supply the crane won by the Fairbairn Engineering Company twenty years earlier). Periodic major overhauls were undertaken throughout the crane’s long service life as well as routine maintenance, greasing and painting. Prior to lifting some particularly heavy guns for the Army early in 1937, for example, the chain was removed and each link tested before being reinstated. Records do not show how much was replaced.
Being scheduled as an ancient monument did not make the crane appreciated. In 1988, it stood redundant and overshadowed by the bulk of the neighbouring warehouse.
In additional to general wear and tear, which was particularly heavy during the First World War when it was in constant use lifting loads close to its maximum weight limit, the crane was also damaged in various accidents. A disproportionate number of these similarly occurred when the crane was being used by the Army, including on 16 March 1916 when a railway truck carrying the undercarriage for a locomotive ran through the siding and struck the crane. The impact fractured the base plate of the crane and the large spur wheel on the chain barrel, which had to be replaced.
When listing the entire Wellington Dock and associated structures (including the Fairbairn Crane) in 2009 as buildings of special architectural or historical interest, English Heritage informed Dover Harbour Board that it would “de-schedule” the crane. This never happened and the crane therefore remains both a listed structure and a scheduled monument.
The simplicity and elegance of its engineering design is highlighted by the contrasting colours of the jib and gear wheels.
