An interesting phenomenon about the Scaffolding Industry is just how many families and generations of families become involved in it. Fathers, uncles, brothers, even grandfathers, you name it and every company will have at least one family working for it. And so it was and still is with Coventry Scaffolding.

Coventry Scaffolding was incorporated in 1950, shortly after the Second World War with Germany had ended. It was a booming time within the building industry as so many buildings had to be completely re-built or extensively repaired following the terrible bombing it took from the German ‘Luftwafer’.

Patrick Hanifan had served in the Royal Navy during WW 2 and when he came out shortly after the end of the war he found himself working in a fruit and vegetable business. This meant having to be at London’s Covent Garden very early in the morning to get the best available produce. To supplement his income he also did extra work in the afternoons in the scaffolding industry with his older brother Maurice.

It was Maurice who was originally approached to start up a scaffolding company with the help of Sydney Salter and Cormac Hargreaves but with Maurice already employed elsewhere, he suggested his brother Pat should get involved instead.

Pat came from a large family with six brothers and one sister and with the help of his other brothers, Pat managed to borrow enough money to buy a second-hand lorry and some materials. Born and bred in Westminster, he knew of an old bombed out Catholic Church in Monck Street and rented it to use as a small yard. After a short while, Coventry moved to another yard, a Salvation Army home, again in Westminster, this time in nearby Regency Street.

Initially, times were hard and Pat regularly had to borrow money to pay the men’s wages but despite this, the business began to improve and the company slowly started to grow. Located where it was gave the company a high profile in and around the Westminster area and contacts were made that would stand the company in good stead for many years to come. Pat’s father had worked at the Ministry of Works and this turned out to be another source of contacts.

As the company grew and became stronger, Pat was able to take on more staff. His brother Maurice left Mills Scaffolding to join him and his brothers Billy and Harry also joined although Harry would later leave to form his own company, Inter City Scaffolding. Other employees – Charlie Holmes, Benny Watts, Kenny Morris and Alfie Waters and Jack Kitson - joined and remained with the company throughout their working lives until their respective retirement dates. The retention of key staff would be a common factor throughout the following decades.

Significantly, towards the end of the decade, Maurice’s son John also joined the company having previously worked in the printing industry. He would later become Managing Director of Coventry Scaffolding.

One of the first major scaffolds undertaken by Coventry was at the old DeHaviland factory in Leavesden where teams of men worked around the clock to ensure a successful job. Coventry were also approached by the Ministry of Technology to test power cradles in Scotland. This would eventually lead to Coventry becoming heavily involved in cradle work and having their own Powered Access Division.

The 60’s was again a decade of growth but saw the departure of Cormac Hargreaves who left to pursue other ventures.

In Whitehall, Coventry were involved in a project entitled ‘Operation Winter Working’ at the Ministry of Public Buildings and Works. This involved literally wrapping their scaffold in plastic sheeting (one of the first times this had been tried) and placing heaters at the base of the scaffold in order to keep the air temperature high enough for the painters and decorators to work.

However, it was a little way down the road in Trafalgar Square that Coventry really started to make a name for itself when it undertook the scaffolding contract to Nelson’s Column – the first time it had been fully scaffolded and cleaned since it had been built in 1844. There was huge press interest in this refurbishment and it seemed like everyone wanted to have their picture taken next to Nelson. Coventry received a marvellous commendation from the Ministry of Public Building and Works for their efforts.

In 1969, Coventry provided stands for the visit of the President of the United States and received the thanks of the Prime Minister.

Despite having the yard in Westminster, Coventry bought premises in Catford to use for offices but by the mid to late sixties, Coventry had outgrown their rented depot in Westminster and were now on the lookout for a more permanent base to move to. In 1968 Coventry moved lock, stock and barrell to Crystal Palace Road in East Dulwich where they would remain for the next 25 years.

Like the sixties, the 70’s was a decade of consolidation and steady growth. Sydney Salter retired as a director of the company, although in truth he had never played an active part in the day to day running of Coventry.

Despite being a little further out from the centre of London, the new larger premises meant additional materials could be stored, more lorries could be added to the fleet and consequently larger contracts could be tackled more easily.

Longterm, probably the most significant event to happen in Coventry’s history was when Paul Hanifan left school to begin his career in scaffolding in the middle of 1972. Starting out ‘on the tools’ with Kenny Morris, his joining ensured the continuation of the family business.

During this decade, the start of terrorist bombings in London would significantly enhance Coventry’s reputation as The 24hr Emergency Scaffolders, something that helped build the company into what it is today and certainly helped it’s proftability over the next three decades.

The first example came one windy Sunday morning when on 31st October 1971, Pat Hanifan received a call to be told that the then Post Office Tower - now the BT Tower - had been rocked by an explosion(alledgedly put there by the IRA) 500ft above ground level. He was informed there was debris strewn everywhere and that the fire service needed access to remove further debris still hanging from the bomb damaged structure.

Pat immediately called his top cradle-hand Benny Watts who within a couple of hours had erected a rig enabling Firemen to access the outside of the building high above Euston Road to hack the dangerous debris away. The only problem was, the Firemen wouldn’t go in it, so it was left to Benny Watts by himself to balance himself in the cradle 500ft in the air, to cut away the twisted metal with a hacksaw.

It was by any standard a very courageous (if not slightly foolhardy) thing to do and earned Benny the BEM for his bravery in The Queen’s Birthday Honours list.

On another occasion in July 1974, Coventry were carrying out work at the Tower of London and their men were actually on site when an IRA bomb ripped through the Armoary. Being at the scene in minutes, Coventry’s three operatives ignored their own safety and entered the building through thick choking smoke and dust to carry the wounded and maimed people (many of them tourists) to safety and stayed and comforted them until ambulances arrived.

During the evening of January 26, 1972 during huge gales and heavy rain, scaffolding (not Coventry’s) was being blown down in the Quadrangle at Buckingham Palace. Within the hour, Coventry’s men were on site making the scaffolding safe. And again, following a bomb explosion at Westminster Hall the Houses of Parliament, Coventry’s men and lorries loaded with scaffolding were seen driving in to New Palace Yard as the fire still blazed. Prompt action indeed!

One other notable emergency was when the Government Department at Horseferry House was bombed. Once again, Coventry provided the access and propping equipment to ensure further damage was not caused to the building.

These are just a few examples of the ‘emergency’ service which Coventry began in the 70’s and still undertake today. There were many other interesting contracts such as the provision of electric cradles to allow the videoing of the external façade of Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament, scaffolding to No.10 Downing Street, a birdcage at The Natural History Museum and a technically perfect scaffold at 1-19 Victoria Street and many more to numerous to list here.

A notable loss to the company was when Pat’s brother Billy died in 1975 at the age of 52, however towards the end of the decade, Chye Por joined the company and was soon to be appointed Company Secretary, a position he still holds today.

This decade saw a degree of change in personnel both in terms of staff and the management side of the business. Many of the original employees were reaching retirement age and the next generation of new, younger people were being recruited to take the company forward. Both Paul and John Hanifan were voted on to the board of Directors whilst Maurice Hanifan retired.

On the business side, the company was now growing strong and attracting the attentions of some of the large national companies who were interested in acquiring it.

Notable contracts included scaffolding an exhibit at The Science Museum – the SLV3 Indian Rocket, the Queen Victoria Memorial, the Albert Memorial, Admiralty Arch, the King Edward Building and the House of Lords lobby which stayed in place for years before eventually being dismantled.

Alan Charlick joined the company and to become Contracts Director, a post he still holds today.

A decade of big change. After a number of new depots had been considered and rejected as being unsuitable, Coventry finally found the home they had been looking for in Sydenham and their 25 year stay at Crystal Palace Road came to an end.

The new depot was purpose built, much larger than the previous one, with good access and was previously owned by SGB, so it was just about perfect. Due to the move, some ex-SGB staff decided to leave and join Coventry. Alan Camp was one who left them to join Coventry as Yard Manager.

One particular contract that commenced in 1991 and carried on into the new millennium was the Department of Environment in Marsham Street. The scaffold was erected to stop concrete falling off the walls at the ends of each of the three buildings and was originally expected to be up for a period of between 2 and 4 years. However, it remained there for 11 years in total and was finally removed when the buildings were demolished in 2002. It had remained on hire all that time.

Another very prestigious contract awarded to Coventry was to scaffold the front façade of Buckingham Palace in 1992. Some other notable contracts were Shell Mex House, the Department of Trade and Industry, the complete external façade of Harrods, Unilever House, Horseguards Parade and the British Museum.

Once again, Coventry’s 24/7 Emergency Service was called into action on numerous occasions throughout the 90’s. Three of them are particularly worth mentioning – the bomb damaged building at The Baltic Exchange, the emergency birdcage inside the House of Commons following the collapse of an oak ceiling beam and a birdcage following a similar incident in the Ballroom at Buckingham Palace.

It was a decade that was to see Pat Hanifan finally retire from the day to day running of the business. In 1999, John Hanifan retired also. In the early nineties, Perry Hanifan joined the company having previously worked at Trollope and Colls and Willmott Dixon.

Despite mounting competition, Coventry remain at the forefront of their industry and continue to forge new relationships and partnerships which new clients whilst satisfying their existing client base. Over the previous decade and a half, they have invested heavily in health and safety and this is reflected in their enviable health and safety track record.

Most significantly, Coventry achieved the ultimate seal of approval in January 2005 when they were granted Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth’s Royal Warrant, the only scaffold company to have such an honour bestowed on it, meaning they can rightly call themselves ‘Scaffolder to The Queen’.

Some notable and prestigious contracts were Westminster Hall, Mansion House, St Pancras Station and the Cabinet Offices in Whitehall.

Over the years, the most often asked question about Coventry Scaffolding is “why Coventry”.

The answer is relatively simple and was in fact just a marketing ploy to give the impression that ‘Coventry Scaffolding’ had expanded into London following the rebuilding of the Midland’s city which, like London was heavily bombed. The idea was that once it had become established, the name would be changed to one with a more ‘London feel’ about it but Coventry quickly established itself in London, so it became impossible to do. It still causes some confusion to this day but overall the strategy must have worked because Coventry are one of the oldest independently owned scaffolding companies still operating.

Who knows what the future holds for Coventry Scaffolding but the Directors and staff remain committed to providing the first class service they always have and want to stay at the top for many years to come yet. The story continues…