East Weare Sea Wall
The East Weare Sea Wall is a stone sea wall of late 19th century origin, running along the shoreline of East Weare from Balaclava Bay towards King's Pier. The wall was built from 1875 to 1881 and has an approximate length of 580 metres. It is now on the estate of Portland Port Ltd and is not accessible to the public.
History
The sea wall running from Balaclava Bay towards King's Pier was built for the War Department from 1875 to 1881 as a result of the unstable ground at East Weare and its susceptibility to landslips. The need for and construction of the wall was for the protection of the East Weare Batteries, a series of five batteries spanning the north-east region of the island. These were built as part of the fortifications for Portland's new harbour of refuge, which itself was created with the construction of two breakwaters from 1849 to 1872.
Construction of the batteries began in 1862, but work was frequently hindered by the area's instability and the bed of soft Kimmeridge clay on which it rests. Early remedial work, including levelling and the installation of trench drains, went some way in improving conditions, but the recurring problems with instability later resulted in the number of intended batteries being reduced from eight to six, and eventually five. The batteries were all completed in their original form by around 1870, although they saw continuous alteration to meet the latest technological advancements in coastal defence.
As East Weare continued to suffer landslips into the 1870s, the War Department made plans for new protection works. They decided by November 1874 to construct a sea wall spanning southwards from Balaclava Bay towards King's Pier. The intention was to prevent the sea in rough conditions from further eroding and undermining the land and in turn reduce the risk of future slips on higher ground. Work began on the wall in May 1875. The excavation and construction was carried out using convict labour from Portland Prison, and much of the stone required was quarried, dressed and loaded by convicts working in the Admiralty Quarries. Some material was sourced on site and also from the works at the Verne Citadel.
The wall's construction included excavating for the foundations, baling out mud and water, removing rocks and stone, puddling clay, pile driving, erecting sheathing, mixing and filling in concrete, and fixing blocks of dressed ashlar and coping with cement. The dressed stone and other material was carted to the site over "very steep and rough roads", and some of the excavated waste was carted away. A pump was used in the excavation work, with its engine accommodated in a wooden engine house, while derricks were erected to place the wall's stonework in position. In his report for 1875, Portland Prison's governor commented on the first months of the project: "The excavating for and forming the foundation of this wall may be regarded as very heavy labour, and the patience of both the officers and prisoners is much taxed, as large quantities of mud and water have to be removed after each high tide and gale of wind."
Work on the sea wall progressed favourably over the following years. The prison governor's report for 1877 described it as being "of a substantial nature" and "has hitherto withstood the force of all gales without injury". The wall was completed in early 1881, running southwards from Balaclava Bay for about a third of a mile. In addition to its primary purpose of preventing landslips, a promenade, ranging from 15 to 20 feet in width, was formed along the top of the wall as a means of providing improved access to the naval rifle ranges at East Weare. The first range was built along the shoreline at King's Pier Hollow in 1871 for use of the Channel Fleet, a second was built in 1875 and a third followed in the 1880s. The ranges could only be accessed by walking over rough ground beforehand.
During the same period as the wall's construction, the War Department's other protection works were also carried out. A surface water drainage system was formed around the batteries to counter the impact of rainwater and this proved to be more effective than the earlier trench drains. In 1875, stone rubble and earth excavated from the widening of the south-east region of the Verne Citadel's ditch was used to infill a large hollow at the foot of D and E Batteries, as another measure to prevent further slippage of the land above.
Today the sea wall survives largely intact, with much of its original sloping masonry still in place. In the late 20th century, boulders were placed along the shore from Balaclava Bay to King's Pier as an additional measure of coastal protection. As they run along the entire length of the wall's front, the boulders have partially obscured the structure when viewed from the sea. Since the closure of HM Naval Base Portland in 1996, the wall has been under the ownership of Portland Port Ltd and is not able to be accessed by the public.
The sea wall was not the only one to be built by convicts during the same period. In c. 1879, a short wall was constructed further south on the seaward side of Folly Pier Waterworks, and another was built near Portland Castle in c. 1881. The former one remains intact and can be accessed by the public.
References
The following is an A-Z list of references for this page.
1) Historic England - England's Places - Portland, Other Places, R-Z - Card: 1156_070 (Sea wall under construction) - Royal Corps of Engineers - 1877 - photograph
2) Ordnance Survey - various maps, including 1891, 1903, 1929 and 1975
3) Portland Harbour and its Defences Report - anonymous author - undated - pages 40, 54
4) Reports of the directors of convict prisons on discipline and management for the years 1875, 1876, 1877 and 1879 - Portland Prison: Extracts from the governor's report
5) The British Newspaper Archive - various contemporary newspaper articles - website page
History
The sea wall running from Balaclava Bay towards King's Pier was built for the War Department from 1875 to 1881 as a result of the unstable ground at East Weare and its susceptibility to landslips. The need for and construction of the wall was for the protection of the East Weare Batteries, a series of five batteries spanning the north-east region of the island. These were built as part of the fortifications for Portland's new harbour of refuge, which itself was created with the construction of two breakwaters from 1849 to 1872.
Construction of the batteries began in 1862, but work was frequently hindered by the area's instability and the bed of soft Kimmeridge clay on which it rests. Early remedial work, including levelling and the installation of trench drains, went some way in improving conditions, but the recurring problems with instability later resulted in the number of intended batteries being reduced from eight to six, and eventually five. The batteries were all completed in their original form by around 1870, although they saw continuous alteration to meet the latest technological advancements in coastal defence.
As East Weare continued to suffer landslips into the 1870s, the War Department made plans for new protection works. They decided by November 1874 to construct a sea wall spanning southwards from Balaclava Bay towards King's Pier. The intention was to prevent the sea in rough conditions from further eroding and undermining the land and in turn reduce the risk of future slips on higher ground. Work began on the wall in May 1875. The excavation and construction was carried out using convict labour from Portland Prison, and much of the stone required was quarried, dressed and loaded by convicts working in the Admiralty Quarries. Some material was sourced on site and also from the works at the Verne Citadel.
The wall's construction included excavating for the foundations, baling out mud and water, removing rocks and stone, puddling clay, pile driving, erecting sheathing, mixing and filling in concrete, and fixing blocks of dressed ashlar and coping with cement. The dressed stone and other material was carted to the site over "very steep and rough roads", and some of the excavated waste was carted away. A pump was used in the excavation work, with its engine accommodated in a wooden engine house, while derricks were erected to place the wall's stonework in position. In his report for 1875, Portland Prison's governor commented on the first months of the project: "The excavating for and forming the foundation of this wall may be regarded as very heavy labour, and the patience of both the officers and prisoners is much taxed, as large quantities of mud and water have to be removed after each high tide and gale of wind."
Work on the sea wall progressed favourably over the following years. The prison governor's report for 1877 described it as being "of a substantial nature" and "has hitherto withstood the force of all gales without injury". The wall was completed in early 1881, running southwards from Balaclava Bay for about a third of a mile. In addition to its primary purpose of preventing landslips, a promenade, ranging from 15 to 20 feet in width, was formed along the top of the wall as a means of providing improved access to the naval rifle ranges at East Weare. The first range was built along the shoreline at King's Pier Hollow in 1871 for use of the Channel Fleet, a second was built in 1875 and a third followed in the 1880s. The ranges could only be accessed by walking over rough ground beforehand.
During the same period as the wall's construction, the War Department's other protection works were also carried out. A surface water drainage system was formed around the batteries to counter the impact of rainwater and this proved to be more effective than the earlier trench drains. In 1875, stone rubble and earth excavated from the widening of the south-east region of the Verne Citadel's ditch was used to infill a large hollow at the foot of D and E Batteries, as another measure to prevent further slippage of the land above.
Today the sea wall survives largely intact, with much of its original sloping masonry still in place. In the late 20th century, boulders were placed along the shore from Balaclava Bay to King's Pier as an additional measure of coastal protection. As they run along the entire length of the wall's front, the boulders have partially obscured the structure when viewed from the sea. Since the closure of HM Naval Base Portland in 1996, the wall has been under the ownership of Portland Port Ltd and is not able to be accessed by the public.
The sea wall was not the only one to be built by convicts during the same period. In c. 1879, a short wall was constructed further south on the seaward side of Folly Pier Waterworks, and another was built near Portland Castle in c. 1881. The former one remains intact and can be accessed by the public.
References
The following is an A-Z list of references for this page.
1) Historic England - England's Places - Portland, Other Places, R-Z - Card: 1156_070 (Sea wall under construction) - Royal Corps of Engineers - 1877 - photograph
2) Ordnance Survey - various maps, including 1891, 1903, 1929 and 1975
3) Portland Harbour and its Defences Report - anonymous author - undated - pages 40, 54
4) Reports of the directors of convict prisons on discipline and management for the years 1875, 1876, 1877 and 1879 - Portland Prison: Extracts from the governor's report
5) The British Newspaper Archive - various contemporary newspaper articles - website page
Gallery
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1891 OS map
An extract from an Ordnance Survey map of Portland, surveyed in 1889 and published in 1891. The wall can be seen in pink, running southwards from Balaclava Bay. (Reused from mapping available at maps.nls.uk under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0).