"Protecting our stonewalls and banks needs partnership with Government"

Wednesday 03 February 2021

The owner of a badly damaged roadside wall has backed a call for Government support to protect Jersey’s distinct drywalls, banques and fosses.

Last week, Bailiwick Express reported that the National Trust was calling on the Government to establish a fund to support landowners with maintaining and repairing roadsides, which are becoming increasingly damaged by the winter wet weather and heavy traffic.

This was backed by the Environment Ministers and the head of the Constables’ committee, although both expressed fears that the money would be difficult to find. 

One Islander whose property includes a stretch of 200-year-old wall in St. Ouen has also backed the campaign, and explained why it shouldn’t just be left to landowners to foot the bill.

Pictured: Many of the Island’s distinctive dry-stone walls are being badly damaged by the recent heavy rainfall.

Richard Le Brocq owns a house off Chemin de l’Eglise, which is part of the main road running from the Farmers’ Inn to the Windmill.

He said: “When I bought the property in the early 90s, I spent quite a lot of money to improve a section of the wall near the entrance, but I couldn’t have afforded to complete the rest.

“Now the old wall is a complete mess. A few years ago, a utility company dug a trench down the road, but their tarmacking has now sunk so there is a deep rut, about five inches deep, which now just fills up with water.

“So every time a wheel follows that rut – which they tend to do because it is so deep – it throws water against the wall."

The wall is one of many built by General George Don in the early 1800s to improve the movement of troops around the Island during the Napoleonic Wars. Held together by clay and earth, the walls held back earth banks on either side, offering shelter and protection to road users.  

“Unfortunately, they weren’t designed for today’s heavy traffic,” said Mr Le Brocq. “And it is not just about the number of cars: the size of tractors and agricultural machinery today is unbelievable. I’ve heard a trailer scrap down the side of the wall, but the driver was probably blissfully ignorant of it in his cab. It is getting worse and worse."

Pictured: A section of Mr Brocq’s wall, which has been damaged by water collecting in a deep rut being thrown up by traffic, washing the wall away.

He continued: “I appreciate that I have a responsibility as the owner of the wall, but the damage is not my fault and I think it’s in everyone’s interest that our walls are protected. I just need a bit of help – perhaps with rebuilding the damaged sections or finding ways to strengthen it from behind. 

“I have asked for Infrastructure to look at the damage caused by their inefficiency to repair the road, but they claim no responsibility for the damage; however, they did send a tarmac firm to level the road but they only repaired around 25 feet of a 400m sunken area.

“However, they have been in touch recently so I hope something comes of that.”

Although Mr Le Brocq's wall was built in the early 19th century, some of Jersey's walls, banques and fosses are some of the last surviving monuments of the island's medieval past. 

'Banque' is used to describe earth or stone structures which retain the soil built-up on one side. 'Fosse' was a term used increasingly from the late 16th century to describe bank and ditched boundaries to keep cattle from the apple trees.