Old Naval Yard Crane is a Grade II* listed building in the Tendring local planning authority area, England. Crane. 1 related planning application.
Old Naval Yard Crane
- WRENN ID
- fallow-keystone-dust
- Grade
- II*
- Local Planning Authority
- Tendring
- Constituency
- Harwich and North Essex MP: Sir Bernard Jenkin (Con)
- Country
- England
- Type
- Crane
- Address
- Old Naval Yard Crane, Harwich Green, CO12 3NH
- OS grid reference
- TM 262 324
- Coordinates
- 51.9447, 1.29003
- Source
- Historic England listing
Description
The Old Naval Yard Crane, located in Harwich, is a Grade II* listed structure dating back to 1667. Originally built in the old Navy Yard, it was extensively rebuilt and relocated to its current site in 1930. This crane features a timber-framed design with a hipped roof covered in clay pantiles and a semicircular felt roof over its projecting boom. The lower two-thirds of the walls are covered in black weatherboarding, while the upper section is open-framed.
The crane consists of four bays with substantial framing, which includes reversed assembly and St Andrews cross bracing at the ends. It has mid rail girts, and the two front bays are supported by inverted knees on the sole plate. A centrally mounted axle supports a pair of 5-meter diameter treadwheels that feature old clasping spokes, which are stop-chamfered and bear carpenter's marks. The top plate has the initials "LA, WR 1799" inscribed on its underside.
In front of the crane is a raked and braced boom, mounted on a vertical pivoting post, with a hanging knee that strengthens the spandrel. The boom itself has scallop-shaped moulding and an ogee on its soffit, which may date back to the 17th century. This crane is likely the oldest surviving structure of its kind in Britain.
Local climate
Old Naval Yard Crane sits in a drier-than-average part of the UK, with an average of 730 mm of rain a year. This makes it drier than 79% of listed buildings in the UK. Its exposure to wind-driven rain is greater than that of 70% of listed buildings.
It experiences an average of 11 freeze-thaw cycles a year, fewer than 89% of listed buildings. Of these, 6 follow at least 1 mm of rain in the preceding 48 hours. Average temperatures at this location have risen by 0.3°C per decade since 1991.
Averages for 1991–2020; temperature trend 1991–2025. Figures describe the wider area (a grid cell of roughly 10 km), not the individual site. Contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information 2026.
More on this building
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- No EPC on record for this property
- No sale records on file
- Related listed building consents — 1 application
- Detailed attributes — period, style, materials, features
- Flood risk assessment
- Radon risk assessment
- Weather exposure and heating demand — rain and frost month by month and year by year, wind direction, solar and humidity
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