On 18 February, it will be eleven years since a section of the town walls bounding St Laurence’s churchyard collapsed. Some maintenance has been done to prevent further decay. Consultants have reported on the work needed to repair the scheduled monument to a heritage standard. Archaeological surveys have been conducted. Beyond that, years have passed by without the repairs beginning. Yesterday, Ludlow Town Council issued a statement on progress on repairing the walls. This tells us little beyond the statement it made in April 2022, except that it is once again engaged in a legal argument on who is responsible for the repairs. The Diocese of Hereford does not have responsibility. Closed graveyards become the responsibility of the local authority. Ludlow Town Council has always been reluctant to take on responsibility for the repairs. For the last seven years, the town council has accepted responsibility for “leading on the repairs” […]
Tag: town walls
Town walls debate in camera at Ludlow Town Council tomorrow
Tomorrow evening (17 March), Ludlow Town Council will meet to “consider confidential legal advice from a barrister relating to Ludlow Town Walls”. Members of the public and unitary councillors will be allowed to speak at the beginning of the meeting, then the council will go into private session. I am not a member of the town council and have not seen any details of what is to be discussed about the town walls beyond the simple statement above. I visited the site on Friday. I am shocked by the state of the collapsed area. There are sycamores and a buddleia growing out of the rubble of the collapsed wall. All vegetation needs removing as a matter of urgency to prevent further damage to the wall. Next February, will see the tenth anniversary of the wall’s collapse.
Update on Ludlow Town Wall repairs
Last night’s Annual Town Meeting was fairly well attended with more than 20 residents. The usual question and answer session followed presentations by councillors. Jennifer Gill asked about progress on repairing the town walls behind St Laurence’s Church, which fell nine years ago. Mayor Robin Pote gave the reply. He said the work could cost £3 million, money that many need to be borrowed. This might be borrowed from the Public Works Loans Board. My back of envelope calculation is that would lead to repayments of around £100,000 a year if the loan period was the normal 30 years. Councillor Pote said: “The wall is owned by St Laurence Parochial Parish Church (PCC). Shropshire Council took the emergency response lead at the time of the collapse. A legal debate between Shropshire Council, the Town Council and PCC commenced in 2015, and Ludlow Town Council agreed to lead those looking for […]
It’s nine years since the town walls fell in Ludlow and they remain fallen
On the morning of 18 February 2013, Ludlow awoke to learn that a section of the town walls behind St Laurence’s Churchyard had collapsed. There was a further collapse two days later at which point Shropshire Council stabilised the wall with bags of sand. The collapses happened after a prolonged wet period followed by a plunge in temperatures to -10C. Nine years later, the wall is still in a state of collapse though there has been slow progress towards getting this collapsed section of wall rebuilt. After a dispute about who was responsible for the repairs, Ludlow Town Council accepted responsibility in October 2015. Nothing much happened for a few years. Different options for repair and reinstatement have recently been discussed following a report to Ludlow Town Council from the Morton Partnership. They involve different levels of disturbance to the churchyard and different potential costs. The repairs could cost between […]
Ludlow’s collapsed town wall should be registered as a Monumental Failure and become a tourist attraction
Next Thursday 18 February 2021, it will have been eight years since the town walls fell at the back of St Laurence’s. There is no sign of the repairs beginning this year. What hope is there of the collapsed section being completed before the tenth anniversary? Almost none in my opinion. I would like to be proved wrong. The failure to repair one of Ludlow’s principal monuments is an embarrassment to our town. St Laurence’s churchyard is still disfigured by Herras fencing. It’s a disgrace. Unless there is action soon, we should perhaps register the collapsed wall as a Monumental Failure and make it a tourist attraction. A blue plaque declaring: “Here lieth the town walls. Resting in pieces since 18 February 2013.”