InterCounty’s scaffolding teams recently completed a contract to supply scaffolding for conservation work on The Priory in Birkenhead on the Wirral peninsula.
To claim that this was a sensitive and important project to work on is a massive understatement. Grade I Listed, The Priory is the oldest surviving structure in the whole of Merseyside. Records such as there are tell us it was founded way back in 1150 and has connections with the Massey Family of Dunham, further east in Cheshire, specifically Hamon de Massey, who is generally credited with having given the Benedictine monks who founded the building permission to do so.
The name ‘de Massey’ and the fact that he was a land-owning baron tells us that Hamon was descended from the all-conquering Norman aristocracy that occupied Britain after defeating the Anglo-Saxons in 1066.
It is believed that the family name comes from the town of La Ferté Macé in Normandy; 'Massey' being an Anglicised form of 'Macé'. This ancient town is still going strong and is located next to a lake which is a popular holiday destination.
Historians tell us that the riverside site of The Priory was chosen so that the monks could control crossings at this point, thus bringing into existence the first known ‘ferry across the Mersey’. Modernity and industry gradually besieged the location and The Priory found itself in the shadow of Cammell Laird’s mighty shipbuilding facility.
Working on highly sensitive buildings such as this is an InterCounty Scaffolding speciality. Their teams have much experience of providing access to and protection for elegant, historic and tricky structures.
