Old Sea Defences at Church Cliff Part 1

Scroll down to content

Rusting ironwork on a wooden breakwater

These pictures were taken in 2010. None of them are edited or altered. They show details from breakwaters at Church Cliff in Lyme Regis, Dorset, that jutted out at right angles to the old sea wall. In combination, the structures were designed as coastal defences to protect the base of the soft crumbling cliffs from erosion by the sea. It was clear that the breakwaters, or groynes, had seen better days and were in need of repair. The iron that was supporting and holding the timbers together was very rusty. A lot of the woodwork was missing. In fact, they were very dilapidated but full of interesting colours and textures. The images in this post focus mainly on the corroding ironwork and include context shots to set the scene. Much has changed since these photographs were taken.

9 Replies to “Old Sea Defences at Church Cliff Part 1”

  4. Thank you, Evelyn. I was a wonderful spot for capturing colour, texture, and decrepitude. Now all has disappeared – except my photographic record. I am glad I took a fair number of shots at the time. Some macro shots of detailed rust patterns will be posted soon. These will be followed by close-up shots of woodgrain with barnacles and small gastropods living in the grooves.

    Liked by 2 people

  7. you pay attention to things which others may not care to give a second look. artifacts like this need to be documented, these photos would be invaluable to historians, and to those interested in history.

    Liked by 2 people

  8. Thank you. It’s true. The old breakwaters were removed and replaced by a new seawall quite a few years ago. I have no idea whether the old structures were officially documented before demolition. Fortunately, my photographs are well tagged and labelled for internet searches to find.

    Liked by 2 people

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.