A 225-foot tonk on the head …

In the heart of London lies our most famous church: Westminster Abbey.

Burial place of over 3,000 souls and where every coronation, bar two, have taken place since 1066.

Spared during the dissolution of the monasteries when he granted the abbey cathedral status, Henry VIII ensured that it was saved from the destruction inflicted on many of our abbeys during his reign.

It’s certainly seen some history.

Highlighted during the funeral of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II were the Hawksmoor towers where construction began 300 years ago this year.

Built by Nicholas Hawksmoor using Portland Stone the towers are starting to show their age.

Which is why they are checked every year for signs of wear and tear to ensure that falling masonry doesn’t endanger any of the Abbey’s 1.6 million visitors each year.

Nobody wants a nasty tonk on the head from falling stonework whether it’s from just a few feet up or from the 225 feet and 4-inch summit.

Nobody likes nasty surprises.

Which is why it pays to check things now and again.

Like we did on a recent foray into Google Analytics and discovered how poorly one of our web pages was performing.

A few tweaks and weeks later and visitor numbers are up by 16% … and climbing.

It certainly pays to check.

If you’ve got any questions, I’d love to hear them.

Stay safe.

Alec