Chester City Walls
Current work on the Walls
Collapse on the City Walls by the Eastgate Clock
Background
In 2020 a section of Chester’s City Walls collapsed close to the famous Eastgate Clock.
Enabling works, including vegetation removal were completed this summer in preparation for the main repair works.
Latest update
Preparation work has started and passers-by may have noticed the preparation of the concrete footings for the scaffold ramp that will be built to access the site under the Grosvenor Shopping Centre car park access ramp.
Further updates will appear on this page.
Repair programme
Originally the curtain wall of a Roman fortress, the City Walls have undergone many programmes of repair or rebuilding through the centuries, often with no or minimal records of what took place. So, the City Walls today form a complex and not fully understood series of constructions, including Roman, Medieval and Victorian.
The construction at this location has not been previously investigated making this an incredibly complex repair project, which also requires Scheduled Monument consent.
Scaffold propping has been designed to support the partially-collapsed inner wall to prevent any further damage, with a roof added for further protection. This will be installed in the first phase of the repairs.
Schedule
Site set up
| What | When |
|---|---|
| Dee House | Completed October 2024 |
| Grosvenor car park | October and November 2024 |
| Baseline surveys (noise, air quality and vibrations) | October and November 2024 |
Stage one - Temporary Works
| What | When |
|---|---|
| Access ramps at Grosvenor car park site | November 2024 to January 2025 |
| Access ramps at collapse site | January to February 2025 |
| Groundworks, construction of support frame foundation and erection of main support frame | February to May 2025 |
| Roof structure and propping to sides of collapse site | May to July 2025 |
| Further supports to collapse | July to Aug 2025 |
Scheduled Monment Consent for Stage two
| What | When |
|---|---|
| Package issued to Historic England | March 2025 |
| Stage 2 consent obtained | July 2025 |
Stage two (only indicative)
| What | When |
|---|---|
| Works begin | July 2025 |
|
Works complete
|
July 2026 |
Stage three
| What | When |
|---|---|
| Works begin | TBC |
| Works complete | TBC |
Further details
Stage 1 - Red Line Boundary
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Stage 1 - Section through A-A
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Stage 1 - View from car park
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Stage 1 - Phase 1
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Stage 1 - Phase 2 (Installation of scaffold structure)
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Stage 1 - Phase 2
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Stage 1 - Phase 3 (Installation of header beans and roof system)
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Stage 1 - Phase 4.1 (Top level propping installed)
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Stage 1 - Phase 4.2 (Working lifts installed withing propping arrangement)
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Stage 1 - Phase 5
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Previous works
Following the collapse, to ensure that residents, visitors and businesses could continue to enjoy this section of the City Walls our engineers, alongside external specialists, designed a temporary walkway which is incorporated into the scaffolding needed to prop up the wall.
The scaffold was carefully designed to protect the Wesley Church Centre, take into account crypts and other buried archaeology between the Church and the City Walls, and maintain a fire escape route for the surrounding buildings.
Although you may think this bridge and steps, dated 1966, look like a modern structure, they are actually classed by Historic England as being part of the City Walls - a legally protected Scheduled Monument.
The design of the bridge and steps was also approved back then by the Royal Fine Art Commission, which from 1924 and then for three quarters of a century, was the UK Government’s advisor on design in the built environment.
Inspections discovered the joints in the steps were rusting and unsafe. Work on the City Walls is prioritised to make sure available budget is spent where it is most needed. Therefore, these steps had to be propped and made safe, so they could remain open for use, while other more urgent safety-critical projects had priority.
Stages for this project:
A ‘Stage 1’ study has been commissioned to identify key stakeholders who need to be involved. Stakeholders will probably include Historic England, the Royal Fine Art Commission, the Corporate Disability Access Forum (via the Council’s Accessibility Officer) and local heritage and history groups, such as the Civic Trust, Chester Archaeological Society.
A ‘Stage 2’ study will follow on from this to develop the most appropriate solution to repair the structure.
Work on the City Walls is always complex and resource intensive and it has taken time to procure a suitably qualified and experienced consultant to lead the study, but work will begin this autumn. Progress updates will appear on this webpage.
These steps showed signs of movement and were therefore propped, so they could safely remain open for the public.
Work on the City Walls is prioritised to make sure available budget is spent where it is most needed. Therefore, these steps had to be propped and made safe, so they could remain open for use, while other more urgent safety-critical projects had priority.
A plan is being drawn up for investigation work, including obtaining Scheduled Monument Consent.
This work will provide an opportunity to investigate a section of the City Walls to the east of this location at the same time – as their construction is unknown and to protect masonry from future erosion.
This site is currently subject to an ongoing dialogue with the landowner through legal channels. Further updates will appear on this page.
A partnership between Cheshire West and Chester Council and Chester Cathedral has revived stonemasonry skills that had previously almost died out. The mutually beneficial approach means one team of stonemasons work on both the Cathedral and Chester’s historic City Walls.
The Cathedral’s stonemasons understand local conditions and materials and have spent a long time refining their understanding of hot lime mortar, a skill that is currently hard to find. One of the biggest maintenance issues on the City Walls was the use of hard cement mortar in the immediate post World War Two years.
It does not allow moisture to evaporate from the joints. Instead, it forces water to evaporate through masonry blocks which are already very soft (as is the nature of the local sandstone), causing them to erode instead. In some sections of the City Walls, the sandstone is almost eroded away completely, but the cement mortar joints stand proud.
Stonemasons are currently trialling different mixes of hot lime mortar at locations across the City Walls.
