MEM15318 - Incline Retaining Wall (Monument)

A retaining wall built to support the west side of the incline. The wall is 70 metres long and up to 11 metres high. A slight bulge within the wall indicates the site of a repair of the 1890s. The Scheduled Monument Condition Assessment of 2009 gave the retaining wall a survival score of 10. [3] The site was surveyed in July 2015 as part of the 2015 Exmoor Scheduled Monument Condition Assessment. It was given a survival score of 10. [4] The retaining wall was visited in January 2018 in order to examine its overall condition, in the light of a crack monitoring programme based on a thorough survey undertaken in April 2010 by Integral Engineering Design. Vegetation hindered inspection of some of the structure and was a cause for concern; however, it was thought that little if any masonry had become dislodged to the point of falling out from the face. It was also suggested that part of existing cracking of the wall may be the slight separation of the top section of embankment from the lower section. Water runoff was also noted as a cause for concern. There were no immediately obvious signs of major recent movements, loss of masonry, scour of fill, water issues or other indications that the structure had changed significantly since the major inspection and revue of 2010. It was suggested that the current monitoring regime be altered, perhaps to laser scanning, as a more comprehensive but financially cost effective method. [5]