Philip de Lange’s extant mast crane, Mastekranen, built in 1746 for Frederik V at the Royal Naval Shipyard at Holmen, Copenhagen, evokes memories of the Maċina (derived from the Italian macchina – machine) at Senglea where there is a unique remnant of our forgotten industrial heritage.

As sailing ships grew in size, masts could only be installed, repaired or removed by specialised masting sheers: wooden masts or spars held together with tarred ropes, and supported vertically (thus ‘sheer’) on a hulk, a ship that had seen better days. For increased stability the sheers were often erected in harbour on a wharf; the lower end of the sheers were set apart to form an ‘A’, which rested on a grooved platform. The pulling force of sheers and load were absorbed by a wooden tower, often enclosed in stone, as in the baroque Mastekranen at Copenhagen, to protect the wood from the elements.

During masting, ship and mast were floated beneath the sheers that were swung out at an angle from the quay; hand-operated (later engine) capstans or winches turned the ropes (later replaced by chains) that lifted the mast for fitting amidships in the hull. At Senglea, the sheers were erected above an ad hoc demi-bastion in the fortifications in Galley Port, later Dockyard Creek. By the end of the 19th century, powerful quay and floating cranes made static sheers obsolete; only a few complete sheers exist, but mastless examples such as the Maċina can be found in former naval establishments.

The Maċina was in service by 1629. Galley masts and spars were stored in warehouses on Store Wharf, to the left of the building, close to the timber yards at the head of Burmola Creek. The appurtenances of each galley were stored separately, its name being carved on the lintel for identification. The timbers of the sheers wore out over time and needed to be replaced. In The Maltese-Hospitaller Sailing Ship Squadron 1701-1798, Anton Quintano says that the Commission of Sailing Ships repaired the Maċina in 1709, and private sailing ships were allowed to use the sheers against payment. There were sheers for smaller vessels in front of the church of St Theresa, across the water from the Maċina.

A watercolour by Charles Frederick de Broctorff (see: ‘The German infantry officer who painted Malta’ the Times of Malta, December 4, 2007) shows Store Wharf and the Maċina in 1838. At the time, the Admiralty was discussing the introduction of Harri’s lightning conductors on masts to prevent damage to ships in harbour or at sea, and the occasional loss of life that occurred when men were struck while working ship. William Snow Harris patented lightning conductors to mitigate the effects of lightning strikes on ships; the usefulness of his conductors was not initially universally accepted as it was feared they could set fire to the heavily tarred wood, the cargo, and possibly cause explosions.

The remaining guard house from the Dockyard main gate.

As on other naval stations, Royal Navy warships at Malta were occasionally struck by lightning, causing substantial damage. Despite being a shore structure, the towering Maċina was also susceptible to lightning strikes. On August 2, 1830, the Melville and Gloucester were badly damaged by lightning; the Britannia, hove to outside harbour, reported similar mayhem that also damaged merchant ships.

The usefulness of conductors was determined from reports filed after lightning strikes. Captain Lock of HMS Hastings described the storm in Grand Harbour of March 8, 1839: HMS Ceylon (the receiving ship) was struck by lightning, and her pole, fore top-mast and foremast were shivered. She was lying close to the Talavera, Bellerophon and dockyard sheers, all of which had their conductors up and met with no injury.

On June 18, Rear Admiral Sir Thomas Briggs, former Superintendent, Malta Dockyard, was asked about lightning conductors in Malta by the Secretary of the Lightning Conductors Committee at Cheltenham. He asserted that the Malta sheers were not fitted with a lightning conductor, but there were chains leading down from the head.

In 1864, the sheers were replaced with iron beams. The new sheers were supported by secondary beams on the roof; the base of the main frame rested on two specially built, hinged, masonry knuckles built half way up the bastion wall, on either side of the arched apertures overlooking the creek

In 1840, the old Maċina timbers were replaced. Timber has a very short lifespan in Malta, no doubt owing to the extremities of the weather. It was during this decade that the first photographs were taken on the island. As a result, the esoteric activities of the Admiralty, generally poorly documented compared to that of the Order, could at least be gleaned from photographs.

The Maċina was renamed Sheer Bastion by the British, and the two appellations were used concurrently.

The new iron Maċina. At right is the Dockyard main gate with its distinctive guard houses.

In 2010, Conrad Thake published William Scamp: An Architect of the British Admiralty in Malta. In the book was the author’s fortuitous discovery of a photograph of the wooden Maċina. To the left of the sheers is Store Wharf and part of its colonnade. On the right are excavations for the building of new stores and the dockyard main gate. The new sheers are huge; like the one they replaced, they rest on top of the bastion, and are supported by several thick guy ropes, chains, pulleys and ladders. The Royal Arms have been installed above the gate overlooking the wharf. In A Brief Outline of the Foundation and Development of H.M. Naval Establishments at Malta (1917), W.A.Griffiths says that the wharf by Sheer Bastion and the Main Gate were completed in 1850.

In 1864, the sheers were replaced with iron beams. Cast iron had already been used elsewhere: in the naval bakery, in civilian structures such as the Valletta food market, the railings at St Paul’s Anglican Cathedral, and the new opera house. The new sheers were supported by secondary beams on the roof; the base of the main frame rested on two specially built, hinged, masonry knuckles built half way up the bastion wall, on either side of the arched apertures overlooking the creek.

The erection of the new iron sheers in Malta was described and illustrated the following year by The Illustrated London News. The weekly newspaper, founded in 1842, revolutionised journalism by publishing vivid images and reportage of British, Empire and world events. Apart from the report, the illustration explains how the operation was executed using the wooden sheers of 1840 to hoist the sheers into place. To enable the sheers to be retracted, the lower end was pinned into cast iron mounts fixed to the masonry plinths.

The Illustrated London News report is a trip in time: “The operation of setting up a very large pair of iron sheers, which have been constructed in the steam factory of Her Majesty’s dockyard at Malta, has just been successfully performed. Our illustration, from a sketch by Mr James Kiddle, master of HMS Royal Oak, will give an idea of this large piece of mechanism.

The iron hinge at the bottom of the sheers.

“The use of these sheers, as most of our readers know, is to enable heavy weights to be raised and put on board ship, or to be lifted from the ship and put on shore. The new sheers at Malta are built of plate iron three-eighths to half-inch in thickness; the legs have an average thickness of two feet, six inches square, and are 25 feet apart, their length being 113 feet. The weight of the whole is 25 tons, and they are capable of lifting 40 tons.

“They have replaced the wooden ones erected in 1840, which showed symptoms of decay, and were not considered safe to lift heavy weights. The deterioration of the iron ones can at any time be tested, and the weak part strengthened.

“We may justly consider this another triumph of iron over wood. After giving the manufacturers all credit for this excelled specimen of their workmanship, we must commend the skilful and sea-men like manner in which the Master Attendant’s department effected the task of shipping and raising them into their place.

Erecting the new iron sheers in 1864.

“They were built in a shed near the factory on blocks of wood two feet in length. When completed, planks were placed on the space they were intended to travel, two skids, made of pine logs, 40 feet in length, were placed under the sheers, and the blocks on which they were built, having been removed by the use of tackle and a capstan from a lighter, were easily transported across three lighters, floated under the old sheers, and slung with chains to the centre connection.

“The capstan were hove round, and the new sheers were gradually raised into their intended position where for many years they will remain a monument to the memory of the gallant and energetic Admiral who now superintends the dockyard at Malta.”

To be concluded