Rough deal for visitors scaling Hadrian’s Wall

Section of Roman frontier made less inviting after sightseers climbing on it left it at risk of collapse

HADRIAN’S WALL has been revamped so that it is less “inviting” for visitors to walk on.

A section of the wall, Steel Rigg in Northumberland, was placed on Historic England’s at-risk register after it began to collapse as a result of sightseers clambering on it.

The section has now been removed from the register following a redesign to make the wall’s surface uneven and less “inviting” to climb upon.

Dr Jane Harrison, a community archaeologist, told BBC Radio Newcastle that it was “simply weight of interest – people climbing up on it to walk on it, to take those lovely photos and the weight of people has caused it to belly out and collapse”.

“We all used to [do it], I remember doing it, the trouble is now the wall is so popular and that particular stretch has so many visitors that their hopping up on and walking on it is causing it to collapse,” she added.

The wall’s surface has been reprofiled in an effort to persuade visitors not to walk on top of it. Dr Harrison added: “They have put a more uneven surface on the top of the wall, planted more tufty grass up there so it’s not so inviting.”

In 2019, Peter Savin, an archaeologist, blamed the collapsing segment of the wall on an large number of tourists climbing onto it for the perfect “selfie”.

Historic England also removed Port Carlisle in Cumbria, part of the 73-mile wall, from the list, as well as the Grade I-listed Holy Trinity Church in Sunderland, that has been transformed into a community hub named Seventeen Nineteen after the year it was built.

St Mary’s Conservation Area in Whitley Bay, however, was added to the list because of its higher numbers of visitors. The list of nearly 5,000 sites in need of repair decreased overall this year, with 233 sites restored and removed from the register. An anti-aircraft battery from the Second World War is included in the 175 additions to the list, as well as experimental concrete homes in Essex. Malmesbury Abbey in Wiltshire is the most historic new addition to the list, built in the 7th century, it is the burial site of Aethelstan, the first king of all of England, which has suffered from leaks in its roof.

Martin Wills of Historic England said that a site being placed on the register meant that its restoration work and funding were prioritised.

“There’s no blame involved here, heritage assets are difficult to look after. They take a lot of time, energy and resource but through the heritage atrisk register we can prioritise what we work on and hopefully in a few years the buildings or sites that have gone on this year will be coming off,” he said.

The Church of St Paul in Jarrow, South Tyneside, was also deemed at risk after the discovery of structural defects, as well as the coal drops at the National Railway Museum in Shildon.

Duncan Wilson, chief executive of Historic England, said: “As the threat of climate change grows, the reuse and sensitive upgrading of historic buildings and places becomes ever more important.

“Finding new uses for buildings and sites rescued from the register avoids the high carbon emissions.” The category with the most additions to the list in 2022 was places of worship.

Astretch of Hadrian’s Wall fell down because of the number of tourists hopping up on it. Now that it has been mended, the top has been set with lumpy stones and tussocky grass to deter clambering visitors. It’s the sort of nudge we meet when crossing the road where the authorities don’t want us to: the pavement is laid with cobbles that turn the ankle. In a way, Hadrian’s Wall was the work of the original Roman Nudge Unit. It made barbarians less inclined to steal cattle under the protection of the Roman Empire. They had to make do with stealing each other’s. Sometimes it feels as though the Nudge Romana has been taken up by the officials entrusted with issuing passports or granting probate. Getting them to respond to a request is like banging your head against the wall. And in this case it’s sadly not the wall that suffers.