Painting the Windmill on Willesborough Hill

Using rope access and steeplejack techniques to paint, maintain and repair a windmill may not be an easy task.



But it is certainly more financially and visually favourable to scaffolding.



Our conservation team achieved stellar results here, giving this stunning Sussex windmill; a quintessential piece of English heritage, a refreshing lease of life.



View our blog post showing how our recent project went.


Norwich Cathedral Weathercock Repairs

An update on our latest work at the awe-inspiring Cathedral in Norwich:



In September we removed the gilded weathercock that sits on top of Norwich Cathedral’s centuries-old spire, to be re-gilded as part of a wider restoration project.



It is thought this marks the first time since 1963 that the weathercock has been brought to ground.



Re-gilding the weathercock was as enjoyable as it was challenging, with multiple layers of the micron-thick gold leaf needed to give it new life.
Suffice to say, the result was worth the effort.


First Ascent: Norwich Cathedral

This week, you may have heard us on the radio, seen us on the television or read about us in the paper.



Though our social media accounts have been somewhat quiet since the Covid-19 outbreak, we have been very busy as a company and blessed with a multitude of wonderful projects.



One such project is that of the spire repair works to Norwich Cathedral, which began this week.



At 96 metres, Norwich Cathedral is home to the second tallest steeple in the United Kingdom, topped only by that of Salisbury Cathedral.
We’re set carry out a variety of works on the spire.

Changing the Flag on Lockdown

The cogs of our company machine are slowly starting to whirr, freeing themselves of the dust and spider webs built up during lockdown!



With restrictions lifting this week, and many companies/traders returning to work, now is a good time to update you on our ‘steeplejacking’ activities.



Jutting out at heights far above the pitched copper roof of Leicester Cathedral, a flagpole was recently in dire need of repair.


Company Statement – Coronavirus

The Covid-19 outbreak has seen many changes to our personal & professional lives.



WallWalkers is committed to exemplary health and safety standards, of which extend far beyond our rope access methods and on-site works, overseeing of our operatives’ and employees’ well-being throughout all aspects of our working relationship.



To help stifle the spread of the virus whilst allowing us to complete select works for our clients new and old, WallWalkers are committed to the following protocol:


High-Level Roof Works – French Church Soho

A quick journey back to May this year will see a team of 4 busy carrying out roof works on this character-infused, Grade II listed church in Soho Square, London.

We were contracted for a five week project, where a wide range of roof repairs were to be carried out.



Tasks included:



High level roof repairs for tile and slate replacement, bell cote bird prevention netting, bell tower netting for catching slip-slates, clearance and repairs to all high level rainwater goods, pointing repairs and the installation of six Georgian wire glass dome windows.

The MillWalkers – Dismantling the Sweeps of a Beautiful Windmill

We recently were contracted to carry out high spec wood repairs to the sails, or ‘sweeps’, of this beautiful windmill and private home.



The spec was to include chopping out failed wood sections, replacing with external-grade plastic wood, painting with wood hardener to any softening wood, sanding down, lining with external-grade mastic and painted with a base coat to the limit of the allowable budget.



Day 1 on site, tools in hand, the specification was about to change dramatically.

Up in Lights – Brushing up on The Royal Academy of Arts

Our rope access services were recently called upon by the Royal Academy of Arts, London. Tasks included specialist cleaning of the priceless sculpture, and the replacement of difficult to access high-level light bulbs. Carried out in the dead of night, it proved to be one of the more complex of our recent undertakings.


After all, how does one suspend oneself over a 50ft void with nothing to attach to above or beside them?


While we gently brushed every surface, line and contour of each sculpture, a professional photographer took shots and footage for a film on the maintenance of the historic gallery.

The WallWalkers of Walbrook

A rope access technician we’ve previously worked with on numerous occasions recently sent me a photograph of a small church in London and I was immediately struck with a sense of warm familiarity as a wave of fond memories rolled in.


It was very much the kind of nostalgia you’d get if you stumbled upon an old photograph showing your fresh-faced school buddies, all laughing and tumbling over each other in an effort to get in the centre line of an off-the-cuff snap.