The Coastal Defences at Reculver

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In Roman times St. Mary's Church was built with Twin Towers as part of

the building. Originally the church was 3kms away from the sea but as

the cliff was eroded it eventually became next to the see. There was a

danger the cliff under the Twin Towers and therefore the Twin Towers

themselves would be destroyed by erosion. To stop this happening many

coastal defences and different types of management have been erected.

The initial try at coastal management was in 1809. Wooden and ragstone

blocks were place at the foot of the Twin Towers to protect them. The

apron of rocks (revetment) sheltered the cliff foot and face. A small

number of wooden groynes were also put on to the beaches on both sides

of the Towers to preserve the shingle beach and therefore using the

shingle beach as a defence.

Then after the devastating floods in 1953, in which North Kent was

badly affected, a lot of building of hard defences to minimise the

risk of more floods and the damage that is associated with them. A

straight concrete sea wall from Reculver to Minnis Bay near Margate,

4.5 kms long, was built. The sea wall protected the low-lying farmland

and in addition to this the railway that links Ramsgate and London. A

smaller recurved concrete sea wall was built west of the Towers to

avert flooding at Reculver. Additional wooden groynes were sited on

the beaches to delay longshore drift and maintain the shingle beaches,

which itself is a defence. In the 1960s the houses at Bishopstone Glen

were in danger of being destroyed because the soft clay and sandstone

cliffs underneath them were so unstable. As a result another sea wall

was built, this time underne...

... middle of paper ...

... Site 1

Grid Reference: 211690

Types of Management:

- Recurved Sea Wall

- Wooden groynes

Site 2

Grid Reference: 205687

Types of Management:

- Straight Sea Wall

- Wooden groynes

Site 3

Grid Reference: 201686

Types of Management:

- Rip rap boulders

Site 4

Grid Reference: 222693

Types of Management:

- No management, all natural. Managed retreat.

Site 5

Grid Reference: 228695

Types of Management:

- Rip rap boulders

- Rip rap rock groynes

- Wooden groynes

- Revetment

Site 1 is near Herne Bay and the sites are along the coastline towards

Reculver in a North East direction. Site 5 is situated on the beach

below the Twin Towers at Reculver. See Location Map of the coastline

being studied from Herne Bay to Reculver.

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