Perhaps we don’t think of the seafront needing
protection … but the power of the tides never stops … the constant rise and
fall of the sea stresses and strains the tidal zone: between the sea and actual
land.
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| 2005 - Eastbourne seafront - showing the groynes |
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| Collapsed and useless groynes in 1990 - after a number of storms prior to that date |
The groynes were a Georgian/ Victorian engineering invention to counter this tidal
subjugation – a necessity, in the late 1800s, when the town was being turned
into a resort …
A sea wall was required, which then itself needed
protection … the development of Eastbourne as a seaside town was started … sea-bathing,
and even drinking sea-water, as cure-alls
had been popularised from the late 1600s.
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| A railway advert - not sure of the date ... the cars look rather like toy ones?! |
By the 1750s the south coast’s hamlets and fishing
harbours were just starting to grow into the seaside resorts we know
today. Eastbourne being known as “The Empress of Watering Places” …
… probably because King George III’s children paid a
visit to the sea-resort in 1780 … a ringing endorsement which popularised the
town as a place to visit …
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| Restoration in 2016 taking place |
… they stayed at the eastern end of the town, in ‘The
Round House’ built over the ruined Roman villa, where the pier now stands …
before the Georgian/ Victorian redevelopment of the sea front and promenade.
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| Toys for the boys ... work in progress 2016 |
A huge amount of reconstruction occurred as the
sea-front was built to withstand the force of the sea … today it is
eye-watering to think of the vision in the 1800s needed to design Eastbourne’s frontage …
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| In 2016 the plans of the works were displayed ... here is shingle being pumped, from barges, onto the foreshore |
The 94 timber groynes formed a major part in diverting
the strength of the tides … they were replaced in the 1920 – 1930s, then after
serious storms in the late 1900s when the shingle had been washed away … the groynes
had gradually collapsed exposing the foundations of the sea wall.
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| Repaired groynes in April 2020 |
By the early 1990s it was decided that larger groynes
would be used, with extra shingle being brought in from the Isle of
Wight ...
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| Greenheart timber: in Guyana Chlorocardium |
... sustainable Guyanan Greenheart timber would be used, which is hard,
durable, resistant to rot, abrasion and attack by marine woodworm.
So we come to the 2015 – 2020 when the groynes needing to be replaced … one shown here … the images giving you an idea of
the ongoing repairs … along the nearly 4 mile frontage …
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| 2016 - working to build up the shingle - which helps to protect the seafront |
As with many Victorian developments, the promenade was
built on top of the shingle beach, particularly eastwards from the pier: this ‘fixed’
the shoreline in a position that was unsustainable …
… the sea would always breach … the seawall would be
undermined, leading to collapse and Eastbourne town being flooded.
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| Groyne much loved by sea plants and molluscs ... |
Thus the groynes are essential to our seafront today …
the sustainable timber lasts about 40 years, while the older it gets the harder
it becomes… and won’t even float in water.
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| Groynes stretching eastwards - all 94 of them |
Maintaining our coastal defences against the power of
the sea never stops … while the moon unceasingly controls the tides, so we need
our coastal engineers and we need those groynes.
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| Eastbourne beach looking east from the pier |
Two hundred and fifty years on we can safely, probably
more safely, promenade along our seafront … and no doubt, in due time, the town will
be full of visitors once more.
Hilary Melton-Butcher
Positive Letters Inspirational Stories
