John Sutch Cranes assists with Liver Bird restoration in Liverpool

The Liver Birds are a pair of stone sculptures positioned on top of the Royal Liver building in Liverpool which have become icons of the UK city – the bird motif features on the badge of Liverpool Football Club.

Another of the sculptures, known as the ‘Third Liver Bird’ or ‘Mother Bird’, has been positioned on top of Mersey Chambers since 1878.

To help with restoration of the sculpture, John Sutch Cranes was brought in to lift it down from its long-time perch.

Carefully does it - removing the Liver Bird sculpture (Photo: John Sutch Cranes)

For this procedure, the crane operator brought in a Böcker AK 46/6000 truck-mounted crane to lift the 60 kg bird. Riggers on the roof and a cherry picker helped to position the bird in a sling before it was lowered to street level.

Mersey Chambers is a Grade 2-listed building which was originally built for the Harrison Shipping Line. The building was bought in 2016 by Acorn Group, which has nearly 200 staff in the building.

Danny Keating, Acorn Group’s chief operating officer, said: “I’ve always wanted to restore this building and bring it back to life, while improving it at the same time.

“There’s a bit more soul to what we do than simply owning glass office buildings. Looking after these buildings and making people proud of them is part of who we are.”

After restoration to correct weather damage, the refreshed sculpture will be returned to its position.

Mick Turner, technical sales representative at John Sutch Cranes, said: “Old Churchyard is a tight spot, with the church gardens on one side, a scaffolded building on the other and people working on the roof above us.

“We chose the Böcker because it could set up in that space, and every step was planned with the riggers before we lifted. With a piece of the city’s history on the hook, there’s no room for surprises. Everything has to be planned with precision and credit to the team, they delivered a brilliant job and a great result for our client.”