As we come close to placing the final beam at 3 Mentmore Terrace, we are looking forward to holding a traditional Topping Out ceremony to celebrate.

The practice of celebrating Topping Out of a building under construction is an ancient custom originating about 700 A.D. in Europe. It was believed that the success or failure of man’s building venture was usually attributed to the gods he worshipped rather than the skill of the people constructing the building. To appease the gods, a sacrifice would be offered by the builders to exorcise the evil spirits who might have taken up residence in the building’s framework during construction. The sacrifices would range from sheaves of corn, to livestock, or even human sacrifice, depending on the intended use of the building.

Around 700 A.D., the practice in the Scandinavian countries was for all the neighbours to aid in the construction work up to and including the installation of the      building’s ridgepole. When the ridgepole was finally in place, an evergreen tree was attached to it as a signal for the beginning of a completion party. The tree would remain in place until all construction was complete. The mythology in Scandinavia suggests that man might have originated from a tree and the soul of man returns to the tree after death. The tree was thought to bless the building and bring good luck to all.

In the Netherlands and Flanders there is the tradition of “pannenbier” (literally “(roof) tile beer” in Dutch) in which it is tradition to hang out a flag once the highest point of a building is reached. The flag then stays in place until the owner of the building provides (free) beer to the workers, after which the flag is lowered. It is considered greedy if the flag is flown for more than a couple of days.