Llandaff Cathedral is situated in Cardiff, South Wales, the core of the present cathedral was begun in 1107 by Bishop Urban and was built on a site made holy in the sixth century. Building work dates from 1193 in the nave to 1244 for the Lady Chapel. In 1187, a sermon was preached in support of a Crusade after Jerusalem had been taken from the Christians.
Ian Beesley Head Verger of Llandaff Cathedral needed to access to the very high ceilings in the chapels and to access parts of the cloisters for cleaning and periodic painting. They also required something small and portable for general maintenance in some of the more confined areas around the main alter. Changing light bulbs around the building was also a particular problem as the light fittings that often were not located near a wall or located directly above the pews.
“All of the products have to be quite manageable as the Friends of Llandaff are not as young as they think they are,” said Mr Beasley. As the Friends are essentially a team of dedicated volunteers the equipment had to portable and easily operated.
It was decided that in the tighter spaces around the presbytery that the Little Giant Ladder System was most suitable due to its flexibility in both height and configurations. During the 19th century, when the Bishop of Llandaff began, for the first time for centuries, to reside in Llandaff, the cathedral was extensively restored, the tower rebuilt and a spire added.
Local architect John Prichard completed much of the restoration work to the main part of the church in 1869. The Prima Combination ladder allowed access to lighting in this area being able to reach lighting rigs over obstructions such as the pews.
On the evening of 2 January 1941 during World War II the cathedral was severely damaged when a landmine was dropped near it during the Cardiff Blitz, blowing the roof off the nave, south aisle and chapter house. These larger and higher areas of cleaning and maintenance tasks are being dealt with by using an Industrial Scaffold Tower to ensure user safety.
