This week’s ThrowbackThursday is from the 1990s and shows a team of Beck & Pollitzer vehicles at Windsor Castle. Our team was part of a large-scale restoration collaboration after the castle — one of the homes of Queen Elizabeth II — suffered a serious fire in 1992.
The fire started in Queen Victoria’s Private Chapel when a spotlight ignited a curtain next to the altar. The flames quickly spread, destroying 115 rooms but —amazingly — no one was harmed.
It took 225 firemen from 7 different counties to put out the fire, and the collaboration of companies involved in the restoration was just as extensive. Beck & Pollitzer provided experienced engineers and crucial machinery for the restoration works, which took a full five years to complete. St. George’s Hall was one of the State Rooms most severely damaged by the fire and, upon reopening it in 1997, the Queen hosted a dinner for all the architects and contractors involved in the project.
