Snodhill Castle
Snodhill Castle is an 11th century motte and bailey castle on a steeply sloping, heavily wooded hill. The site was of great archaeological interest and environmentally sensitive as several protected species of flora and fauna were present.
SSHC undertook Phase 2 of the project. The structures were in fragile condition and the location very precarious. Health and safety of workers, visitors to the site and the genral public were therefore very carefully managed. The SSHC Site Manager was extremely expeienced in the site managment of ruinous strcutures, having worked on Corfe and Carisbrooke Castles for the Company.
Logistics were complex due to the remote location and sloping site. Water was obtained from a local farmer and stored in a bowser. A Scaffold staircase was built and materials transported in a motorised soft wheeled vehicle. This work comprised of:
De-vegetation
Lime mortar consolidation of rubble wall cores
Lime re-pointing
Soft capping of wall heads
Crack stitching using Stainless Steel ties
Insertion of structural reienforcement and anchoring system
The ruinous castle walls had been propped during the Phase 1 of the project (undertaken by others)
The complex scaffold around the ruins can be seen with the specialised scaffold staircase (photo courtesy of Adam Stanford c Ariel-Cam Ltd))
Fragile elements of the ruinous strcuture were carefully consolidated