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Coastal Protection Measures at Historic Landfill,

Woodbrook

Architectural Heritage Impact Assessment Report

21 SUNDAYS WELL ROAD, CORK May 2018

TEL 353 021 4393800

FAX 353 021 4854145

Email: architects@jca.ie

Website: www.jca.ie

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Coastal Protection Measures at Historic Landfill,

Woodbrook

Architectural Heritage Impact Assessment Report

Contents Introduction & Planning Context Page 3 Historical Development of the site Page 4 Description & Condition of Fabric Page 7 Proposed Works Page 14 Architectural Heritage Impact Assessment Page 16

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Introduction Jack Coughlan Architects inspected the work area in October 2017, at the request of

Malachy Walsh & Partners, in order to prepare an Architectural Heritage Impact Assessment

for the proposed Coastal Protection Measures project.

The area which is the subject of this report is on the coast, South of Woodbrook Golf Club

(just North of Bray), which comprises an area of eroding cliff shoreline that was recently

used as a landfill site. The landfill was closed in 1968. Following the preparation of a number

of reports on possible remediation and cliff protection options, Malachy Walsh & Partners

(MWP) have identified two possible options: full cliff height protection with armourstone

revetment, and a combination of armourstone revetment with regrading of the top of the cliff

face.

This report comprises an architectural heritage impact assessment which includes an

historical context for the development of the area, a brief written and photographic record of

the existing structures, and an assessment of the likely physical and visual impacts of the

proposed Protection works on the special character of the historic structures.

This report draws on a number of previous reports for background historical and technical

information. These reports are:

Malachy Walsh & Partners, Coastal Protection Measures at Historic Landfill - Assessment

Report (30/05/2017)

Bolton, Jason, Coastal Architecture of Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown, (2008).

Other sources of information used include:

The Irish Architectural Archive’s Dictionary of Irish Architects entries on Cork Abbey.

Nancy Mahony, ‘Corke Abbey: Aspects of its History’, Journal of the Cualann Historical

Society, 1980.

Davies, K.M. (ed.), Irish Historic Towns Atlas: Bray, Dublin, 1998.

Planning Context

There are no Protected Structures on the existing site.

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Historical Development of the site

Above: First edition (c. 1840) OS map, showing Cork Abbey and its gate lodge to the east.

Below: Lawrence Collection photograph of Bray, with whitewashed, hipped roofed, single-

storey gate lodge just visible, c. 1890 (NLI)

The site of the proposed Coastal Protection Measures lies on the East coast, just north of

the border between Co. Dublin and Co. Wicklow. The first edition OS map shows the site

forming part of the Eastern boundary of the lands associated with Cork Abbey. Following

the dissolution of religious houses in the 16th century, Cork (or Corke) Abbey became the

site of a series of substantial country houses. A small, probably single-storey gate lodge on

the site of the proposed development, visible on the first OS map, may also be seen in a

Lawrence Collection photograph of Bray, taken c. 1890. The first edition OS map predates

the introduction of the railway line between Dun Laoghaire and Bray.

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OS map, c. 1889, showing rail line with bridge over the line (blue) and gate lodge (red)

The nature of the site changed dramatically in the mid 19th century with the introduction of

the railway line between Dun Laoghaire and Bray. Ireland’s first railway line, between

Dublin and Kingstown (Dun Laoghaire), opened in 1834. Further extensions south, along a

coastal route, culminated in the line being extended as far as Bray, which opened in 1854.

The engineer, William Dargan, was heavily involved in the extension of the line to Bray,

having begun to invest in the associated development of Bray from a small seaside village

to a populous and architecturally sophisticated town.

The site of the proposed Coastal Protection Measures was occupied by the original rail line

between Shankill and Bray. The site chosen for the rail line ran through land owned by Cork

Abbey, so a railway bridge was built over the line to give access to the existing gate lodge

at the eastern boundary of the Cork Abbey estate. The estate was now almost entirely cut

off from the sea by the rail line, with the railway bridge the only access point.

The rail line was supported on the site by stone and timber railway embankments, which

were formed here from squared, local granite masonry, with some timber elements. This

section of the line appears to have been found vulnerable to coastal erosion almost

immediately after it was built. The sea continued to diminish the coastline at the site during

the latter part of the 19th century, exacerbated by the construction of Bray Harbour a short

distance to the south, which began in 1891. This led to a substantial reduction in beach

levels north of the harbour area, leading to undermining and flooding of the railway line.

There are also references in 1896 to the erosion here exposing a 6000 year old submerged

forest. Additional coastal protection measures added included strengthening the railway

embankment, providing a breakwater, mass concrete coastal protection and metal groynes.

A drystone breakwater was also built to protect the Cork Abbey railway bridge.

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A map, c. 1887, showing the Dublin and Kingstown Railway line to Bray in Black, and the

Harcourt Street Line (1854) in Pink: both lines joined just to the north of the site

The map above illustrates the inland route of the Harcourt Street line (much of which now

forms the Luas Green Line), which joined the coastal rail line at Shanganagh Junction, just

north of the subject site. It then continued on to Woodbrook Halt (1910), so serve the cricket

ground on the Woodbrook Estate (now Woodbrook Gold Club). This line closed in 1960.

Coastal erosion affecting both of these lines led to the decision, in, 1915, to realign the

coastal rail line (by then the Dublin and South Eastern Railway) further inland, referred to as

the ‘Shanganagh Deviation’, illustrated below. The present rail line now runs along this

route. From this point onwards, the structures associated with the original rail line on the

proposed present Coastal Protection Measures site were not maintained, and the very

significant coastal erosion in this area has led to the loss of almost all associated fabric. The

site of the Proposed Coastal Protection Measures was, during the mid- twentieth century,

used as a landfill site, which incorporated some parts of the former railway structures.

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Description and Condition of Fabric

The site is presently accessed from a cliff path to the north of Bray Harbour. The extent of

the site is outlined in the most recent aerial photograph, below right. The railway bridge is

outlined in blue, and the site of the remains of the Gate Lodge in red

Aerial photograph, 2000 Aerial photograph, 2005 Aerial photograph c. 2017

Jason Bolton’s Coastal Architecture of Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown study, published in 2008,

identified a number of elements of partially surviving architectural heritage either within the

area, or adjoining the site of the proposed Coastal Protection Measures.

Killiney-Cork Abbey Railway

This is the abandoned coastal section of railway line indicated on the historic maps on

previous pages, which ran to the east of the present rail line. As outlined previously, the

earlier line was abandoned due to coastal erosion, and this erosion has continued since its

abandonment in 1915. Bolton’s report indicates that much of the railway line survives

underwater, although the Signal Posts and other associated built structures have been lost.

View north towards Killiney: coastal rail line ran to the seaward side of the present coastline

Stone Railway Embankment

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This is identified in the Bolton report as the stone section of the railway line, built between

1851-1856, which in 2008 survived underwater and on the foreshore just south of where it

met the Harcourt Street line at Cork Abbey. The line stretched from the townland of Corke

Abbey. North of Bray Harbour, and extended along the inter-tidal and underwater zones to

the former Maheragh Point, south of Loughlinstown River. The surviving building fabric

described by Bolton consisted squared granite masonry, facing a concrete core formed of

hydraulic lime binder with pebbles, cobbles and small boulders of granite, limestone,

greywacke and brick. Bolton concludes that the embankment was, in 2008, subject to

significant disruption, ‘and is either entirely submerged or… can be expected to totally

collapse in the short term’. This appears to have been the case in the intervening years up

to 2017, as any surviving remains of the embankment are now very scattered on the

present storm beach, below, and are difficult to identify.

Site of Stone Railway embankment, in foreground above, viewed from north.

Historic Coastal Protection Measures

The encroachment of the sea upon the coastline on this site has been problematic since

construction of the railway line began here in the mid-19th century. The sharp lowering of

beach levels here brought about by the construction of Bray Harbour at the end of the 19th

century led to undermining and flooding of the coastal railway line. Coastal Protection

Measures were put in place here, which according to Bolton included strengthening of the

railway embankment, provision of a breakwater, mass concrete coastal protection, and

metal groynes. Eventually, in 1915, the line was abandoned in favour of the present line, a

short distance to the west.

The elements of Coastal Protection Measures identified in Bolton’s report are a drystone

breakwater, built to protect the Cork Abbey railway bridge from wave action, probably built

at the end of the 19th century. Bolton noted in 2008 that this structure survived in the inter-

tidal zone. The photograph overleaf shows the site to the east of the railway bridge today.

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Present view of coastline to east of remains of Cork Abbey Railway Bridge

Shortly after the initial measures were put in place, further attempts to protect the rail line

from coastal erosion were made by the construction of a series of timber and iron groynes,

designed to trap sediment moving with the tides along the coastline. These works were

noted in the Irish Times on 8 August, 1902:

‘As an additional support to the (railway) wall between Shanganagh Junction and Bray, a

series of nine groynes on Case’s system have been put in within the last two years, with a

view to check the travel of the shingle along the beach and protect the foundations of the

wall.’

Bolton noted in 2008 that the metal uprights remained in situ: they lie further beyond the

present coastline at this point.

Bolton also notes that measures were taken to strengthen the seawall, with some of those

additional fortifications surviving as collapsed masonry remains beside the former railway

bridge at Cork Abbey. Bolton also notes traces surviving of other structures, including the

timber uprights of a former jetty, a timber, iron and mortar slipway, and building materials

embedded in the sands, including floor tiles and a timber cruk frame. These features now lie

further out into the inter-tidal zone, with more loss of the partially surviving built fabric since

2008.

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Cork Abbey Railway Bridge

The surviving elements of the Railway Bridge today are the collapsed remains of the two

main side walls. The deterioration of these walls since 2000 is clearly visible in the series of

aerial photographs at the top of page 7 of this report. The Bolton report notes that ‘no

traces of the roof, splayed wings, or capping stones of the bridge survive either at the site of

the bridge, or as recognisable masonry in the adjacent foreshore area’. The report also

notes ‘a curving drystone breakwater located in the inter-tidal zone immediately to the east

of the railway bridge’. These remains now lie further east of the present coastline. The

landfill remains to the western part of the site encroach on the western section of these

surviving parts.

The surviving side walls of the Railway Bridge are formed of rusticated granite ashlar

masonry blocks, with a granite, limestone and greywacke core.

The two surviving side walls of the former Railway Bridge, one more substantial, above, to

right of picture, and below, the southern part, showing rusticated masonry courses.

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Views of the surviving elements of the side walls of the Railway Bridge, viewed from east,

above left, top of wall viewed from west, above right, and northern elevation, showing heavy

buttresses, below, with recently laid concrete pipe to north visible in foreground. The walls

run directly into the former landfill to the west, having formed part of the landfill boundary.

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Recently laid concrete pipe, above, secured at its eastern end by collapsed material from

Railway Bridge

Collapsed remains of southern side wall of Railway Bridge, which has collapsed towards its

southern side, above, viewed from south, above left, and top of collapsed section, above

right, with closer view from south, below.

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Cork Abbey Gate Lodge

Bolton’s report shows a 2006 photograph of a surviving detached wall of the former gate

lodge, formed of coursed, mainly granite masonry, with further collapsed sections of wall

lying within the surviving remains. The report notes that the surviving wall of the gate lodge

formed a retaining wall of the 20th century landfill site. The lodge appears from a c. 1890

photograph to have been a detached, single storey, hipped roofed lodge, with whitewashed

walls at that time. Bolton’s report notes that the surviving wall had, however, collapsed by

2007, and by 2017, no identifiable remains appear to survive on the site of the Gate Lodge.

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Proposed Works

The present proposed Coastal Protection Measures are deemed necessary in consideration

of the projected coastal erosion rates within the next 50 years or so, illustrated on the aerial

photograph above. Among the concerns around this erosion are those relating to the release

of landfill contents into the sea. The photograph above shows more intact remains of the

historic building fabric outlined above than that which presently survives.

The present preferred coastal defence structure (as outlined in Malachy Walsh & Partners,

Coastal Protection Measures at Historic Landfill - Assessment Report of 30/05/2017) is that

of an armourstone revetment. There are two possible protection height options for the

armourstone revetment; full height protection, illustrated overleaf, and protecting the toe of

the existing cliff and stabilising the cliff by re-grading, illustrated below.

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The first option: Full-height protection, above.

Both options are now to be assessed during the Preliminary Design Stage.

Both options would result in the loss of all remaining historic building fabric on the site, which

is now apparently solely the surviving parts of the Railway Bridge.

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Architectural Heritage Impact Assessment

Impact of the Proposed Development on the Historic Structures on the site

The Proposed Works, which are intended to address the risks to the coastline from further

erosion, are described in the preceding section.

It is very clear from the photograph on page 14 of the projected erosion rates in a ‘do

nothing’ scenario that any remaining historic built fabric would be situated beneath sea level

by 2050. It is likely that what remains in situ would, however, have further deteriorated very

substantially well before that date. The effective loss of these remains is, in the relatively

short term, inevitable.

Physical Impact

The principal remains of the Historic Structures outlined above which are presently situated

within the site of the proposed works are the surviving collapsed or collapsing side walls of

the Cork Abbey Railway Bridge. The remaining elements would be entirely removed under

either the re-grading or the full height schemes described above. The physical impact would

be very significant and permanent.

The remains of the Killiney to Cork Abbey railway described in Jason Bolton’s report lie

outside the site of the proposed works. Where elements of the Stone Railway embankment

or Coastal Protection Measures do survive within the site of the proposed works (none were

identifiable on the storm beach as part of the present survey for this report), they would also

be either removed or buried, with a very significant and permanent physical impact.

As no remains of the former Cork Abbey Gate Lodge were identifiable during the survey for

this report, there is no surviving fabric upon which there may be an impact. If any scattered

physical remains of the Gate Lodge survive, they would be either removed or buried by the

proposed works.

The overall impact of the proposed coastal protection works on the surviving fabric

associated with Cork Abbey Gate Lodge and the original route of the 19th century coastal

railway line and its associated infrastructure and protective structures is, therefore very

significant, permanent and irreversible. This impact, must, however, be understood in the

context of the inevitable loss of all of this fabric within decades as a result of continuing

coastal erosion if no work is undertaken at the site.