Harbour Mill

SM Engineering South West Ltd were tasked with designing and installing a new industrial staircase for the Coldharbour Mill Museum. The project involved a collaborative effort to deliver a custom-engineered solution that met the specific requirements of the historic site.

Project details:

CLIENT:

COLDHARBOUR MILL MUSEUM

SECTOR:

HERITAGE & CULTURAL

PROJECT:

INDUSTRIAL STAIRCASE

About the project:

The Client:

Coldharbour Mill is one of the oldest woollen mills in the UK, located in Uffculme, Devon. Established in 1797, it has been producing textiles for over 200 years. Today, Coldharbour Mill operates as a working museum, showcasing historic machinery in action. It offers visitors a rare glimpse into the traditional processes of textile manufacturing and the lives of workers in a Victorian industrial setting.

Requirement:

SM Engineering SW Ltd were approached by the client in 2024 as their main fire escape, feeding the upper 3 floors of the museum and exhibits, had been condemned and rendered unsuitable. Unfortunately, without adequate means of escape for visitors in the event of an emergency the client was left with no choice but to close the upper floors to the public resulting in increased losses of revenue by the day. It was for this reason that a rapid response was needed to minimalize further losses. The historical importance of the site was perhaps one of the most important factors within this job. The building is grade 2* listed therefore any work carried out had to be done with extreme levels of care and consideration to preserve the heritage of the building and area.

The Job:

Work began on 6th January 2025 carefully removing the existing escape being sure not to cause any more damage than was absolutely necessary. Pieces of the existing escape were kept by the customer to preserve and display whereas the rest was discarded into a 20” bin to be recycled. SM Engineering then undertook the groundworks and concreting works to stabilise the base for the new structure. The new fire escape was fabricated in house by SM engineering and hot galvanised to preserve the structure for years to come. The whole structure was erected by SMs on site team. With limited access to the site meaning no crane or machinery could be used they had to use advanced rigging, lifting and hoisting techniques to position and bolt each piece by hand. Due to the Efforts and skill of everyone involved this job was completed ahead of schedule and without any incidents or accidents.