Ross-on-Wye

Rebuilding

12^th December 2009

On Friday 20^th November 2009 the new wall was officially handed over to Herefordshire Council thus indicating that the works are now complete.

The restored Prospect viewing point (Click for a larger image)

Present at the handover were Mr. Lee Dawson, Mr. Bob Stevens (both from JJ Preece and Sons), Ross Councillor Gordon Lucas (who has followed the works from the start) and Councillor John Stone (chairman of Herefordshire Council)⁶.

Mr. Lee Dawson has been the site manager since the works started and was relieved to see the works complete especially considering the various complexities and associated delays that have occurred during the project.

The restored view point (Click for a larger image)

21^st November 2009

The fencing surrounding the upper part of the works has also now been removed. Unfortunately it was raining so heavily and got dark so early that I did not get the opportunity to take a worthwhile photo.

7^th November 2009

The Boundary Wall

The stone facing on the retaining wall has now been completed.

The completion of the retaining wall (Click for a larger image)

18^th October 2009

The Boundary Wall

The stone facing on the retaining wall has now nearly been completed.

The building of the retaining wall (Click for a larger image)

10^th October 2009

The South and West Wall

The south retaining wall (Click for a larger image)

The stone facing on the south wall has been completed.

The west wall of the Propect boundary wall has been half completed.

The west retaining wall (Click for a larger image)

27^th September 2009

The Retaining Wall

As can be seen here, the building of the facing on the wall has been further progressed in the last week.

The ongoing building of the boundary wall (Click for a larger image)

19^th September 2009

The Facing for the Retaining Wall

As can be seen in this photo, the facing for the south-west corner and west wall are in the process of being built.

Facing for the boundary wall (Click for a larger image)

12^th September 2009

The Retaining Wall

The retaining wall for the south-west corner and west wall have been cast and the shuttering removed.

The boundary wall (Click for a larger image)

22^nd August 2009

The Shuttering for the Retaining Wall

The shuttering has been put in place to allow the concrete supporting wall to be cast around the steel reinforcing.

Shuttering for the boundary wall (Click for a larger image)

The shuttering for the boundary wall (Click for a larger image)

The corner of the shuttering (Click for a larger image)

Once the concrete wall has been cast, a stone facing wall will be built around the outside and the soil put back inside to protect the archaeology and to rebuild the Prospect viewing point.

4^th July 2009

The Retaining wall

The footings for the boundary wall are now in place and a buttress to help support the west wall has been added in the form of the steel reinforcing as seen here.

The rebuilding of the boundary wall (Click for a larger image)

The rebuilding continues (Click for a larger image)

29^th June 2009

The Excavation

The excavations have continued and the soiled piled on top of the archaeology ready for the boundary and retaining walls to be built.

The excavation site (Click for a larger image)

26^th June 2009

The Excavation

The excavation site (Click for a larger image)

Hole in the bank (Click for a larger image)

The excavations have restarted and this strange hole full of stones have been unearthed. Presumably this is the precursor to the retaining and boundary wall being rebuilt.

Another view of the excavation site (Click for a larger image)

At the upper site there are several pieces of excavation equipment along with a mini digger at the lower site. There are also a number of pieces of reinforcing steelwork laying around the site; presumably this will be used as part of the retaining wall. Additionally there are a number of bags of stone that will be used to face the boundary wall.

The diggers have returned (Click for a larger image)

The upper view of the excavation site (Click for a larger image)

16^th June 2009

The Lower Excavation Area

There has been no work on the site for a number of weeks now, it has become overgrown and looks disheveled.

There is a notice on the boundary fence that states that the works have halted as the walls are redesigned to allow the site to be preserved.

The lower excavation site (Click for a larger image)

4^th April 2009

The Original Excavation

The excavation has now been covered with a layer of soil to protect it as preparations to build the supporting and boundary wall continue.

The excavation site (Click for a larger image)

2^nd April 2009

The Original Excavation

The excavation has been covered with polythene or a similar protective layer. The elevators have been positioned to allow soil to be transported back down onto the site to allow the polythene to be held down in place.

The excavation site being covered (Click for a larger image)

28^th February 2009

The Original Excavation

The roof and scaffold over the excavation site has been removed and a layer of polythene placed over the area to protect it. The trench that will form the lower part of the retaining wall has started to be excavated. Once the retaining wall is underway the boundary wall is also likely to be rebuilt.

The original excavation site (Click for a larger image)

17^th February 2009

The Original Excavation

The original excavation site (Click for a larger image)

The excavations are continuing, as can be seen in the photo above, and are currently scheduled to be completed by the end of March.

At the end of March the proposal is to build a retaining wall around the back of the site to hold the Prospect bank back and stop the garden from collapsing into the excavated area. The stone wall will then be completed around the outside of the site to complete the boundary wall and separate the Prospect from the Church Yard again. The idea then seems to be to put a temporary cover over the site until it can be decided how (or if) the site can be put on display.

In the middle of the photo are the Archaeologists continuing the excavations and the person who will be in charge of building the walls needed to retain the banks and create the boundary wall. To the far right can be seen two representatives from AMEY, who are the primary contractors, who are surveying the site in preparation for the continuation of the boundary and retaining walls.

The Archaeologists at the site (Click for a larger image)

This shot shows the ongoing excavation work in more detail. The three people in the lower half of the shot to the left are from Border Archaeology, who are carrying out the archaeological excavation and the gentlemen in the upper part of the shot, in the fluorescent jacket, is from I. J. Preece & Son Ltd (IJP) who are in charge of carrying out the construction of the retaining and replacement boundary walls.

1^st February 2009

The New Excavation

The roof over the new excavation site has been removed and the walls of the Bishops Palace are soon to be covered back over.

The new excavation site (Click for a larger image)

23^rd January 2009

The Original Excavation

The original dig has been further extended and excavations have been continuing both out and down.

The extended original excavation (Click for a larger image)

The War Memorial

It has been announced that since the move of the War Memorial it has been decided to give it a clean and update it to include some of the names linked to recent conflicts.

The War Memorial (Click for a larger image)

The New Excavation

The new dig area is unchanged.

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¹ The Ross Gazette - Wednesday June 4th 2008
² The Hereford Times - Thursday June 5th 2008
³ The Ross Gazette - Wednesday September 10th 2008 - no. 6727 - article: Roman remains or landmark tree?
⁴ The Ross Gazette - Wednesday September 17th 2008 - no. 6728 - article: A new home for Ross War Memorial
⁵ Ross-on-Wye Journal - Wednesday October 6th 2008 - article: Tree will go at Prospect
⁶ The Ross Gazette - Wednesday November 25th 2009 - article: Prospect restored
⁷ http://en.wikipedia....ncient_Roman_pottery, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samian_ware
⁸ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Claudius
⁹ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epona