Conservation Plan

The present setting:

The wall is set back from the dual carriageway on Grapes Hill with a broad verge of grass and trees to the front of the wall. [10] The north west corner of the wall is obscured by a redundant toilet block constructed probably in the 1960s. [11] The traffic driving west along St Benedict's is now restricted which improves the setting of this part of the wall. On the east side the narrow street is relatively quiet with modern houses on the city side and again traffic has been reduced by the restrictions on St Benedict's Street. The narrow pavement on the lane sits hard against the wall on the upper part. [12]

Beyond the wall to the south, the line of the lost part of the wall is marked by a narrow band of cobbles.

Landscape report by Christine Boswell:

A large proportion of this section of wall is masked by the dilapidated toilet block on one side and by mature hedging on the other. Approaching the Grapes Hill traffic lights from the north the wall is completely hidden by a disused and dilapidated toilet block for approximately 30% of its length. The remainder of the western face is set into a grassed area with a group of three silver birch. At the south end of the wall a stepped opening is flanked by Juniperus horizontalis which in places is 1200mm high.

On the eastern side of the wall 50% is covered by a clipped Pyracantha hedge. Other obstacles to the wall are a road sign and a yellow salt/grit bucket placed up against it.

Recommendations:

• The toilet block should be demolished and re-built at a site nearby on car park on north side of St Benedict's Street.
• The Pyracantha hedge should be removed as should the Juniper horizontalis.
• The wall should be uplit on both sides. The ditch should be reintroduced as a grassed indent and the pedestrian path should be re-routed alongside the ditch and away from the main road.
• An information board about the wall at this site should be sited in the area of the toilet block, once it is removed.
• Introduce low cover to the east side of the wall up to the pavement edge eg. Geranium maccorhizum.
• Re-site salt/grit bin further up hill and screen with willow fencing.
• Re-site road sign

Potential long-term improvements recommended for the surroundings:

Enhancement of the display of this section of the wall must be planned in conjunction with work on the surviving wall on Barn Road just to the north of St Benedict's Street. [report 16] At the moment there is no visual connection between the two parts but in fact here the sections of standing wall extend over a distance of 115 metres. No advantage is taken of the open space around the outer side of the wall and the attractive topography with the slope of Grapes Hill and the wide areas of grass and trees. [13]

The area to the north of St Benedict's should be improved by excavating the modern ground level and by taking the footpath that runs inside the wall further back. There would also be an opportunity to plant a new hedge of trees and mixed planting between the new path and the car park. That would provide a suitable backdrop to the wall and would provide a screen between the car park and the road. The aim here is actually to focus on the appearance of the wall from the outside.

Removing the toilet block at the road junction in front of the Duck Lane wall and opening up the west side of the wall would make a visual connection between the two parts. Taking the ground level down on the site of the ditch would give a stronger impression of the appearance of the original wall.

The wall south of the surviving section is marked by a narrow band of cobbles that in no way reflects the actual dimensions of the wall. The site of the lost tower should be excavated. If there are sufficient remains of the footings of the tower these should be left open for display. If the base of the tower has been robbed out then the outline of the tower should be set out in flints or cobbles and then the full width of the wall marked out as it continued up Grapes Hill. The present line of cobbles actually gives the impression of the wall being very feeble if people even understand what the cobbles represent.

Archaeological impact assessment:

If the outer ditch is in part reinstated there would be an opportunity to examine a much larger area than was investigated in the 1950s.

Any smaller scale investigation of this area should focus on:

• the base of the lost intermediate tower
• the section of lost wall at the north end to establish the precise relationship between the wall and the gate
• the inner face of the wall to determine if there was an internal arcade.

Conservation Report Summary with Recommendations for Action

1. Immediate attention

• No immediate conservation work required

2. Requires regular monitoring

• Monitor wall top for loose flint work and water penetration

3. Long term conservation

• Re point areas of hard pointing on west or outer face of wall

4. Improvements to the setting

Priority

• Trim back pyracantha on east side

Long term

• Demolish toilet block and re-landscape north end of wall
• Light west side of wall
• Excavate and expose for display site of lost tower
• Excavate area of ditch to give grassed area in front of wall a sharper profile
• Return soil/bank to medieval level against outer side of wall

BIBLIOGRAPHY:

DOCUMENTARY REFERENCES:

ARCHAEOLOGICAL REPORTS:

Historical Illustrations: