2,000 capping stones used to get Mourne Wall in peak condition

2,000 capping stones used to get Mourne Wall in peak condition

12 December 2018

REPAIRS to the iconic Mourne Wall have been completed ahead of schedule.

The news — first revealed in the Recorder three weeks ago — has this week been confirmed by Northern Ireland Water.

The contractor who carried out the work used a helicopter to lift dry stone into the high Mournes as part of a scheme to refurbish a 2.5km section of the 22 mile-long granite wall built in the early 20th century by the Belfast Water Commissioners. 

The wall stretches across 15 peaks and took nearly two decades to construct and over recent months, bags of capping stones weighing just under a tonne each were airlifted to Slieve Commedagh, Slieve Donard and Slieve Bearnagh. 

Around 2,000 capping stones were used to stabilise sections of the wall, with the stones salvaged locally and weighing between 80 and 120kgs each. They enabled the contractor to complete and fully stabilise sections of the Mourne Wall that had already been repaired.

Working through all types of weather, the repair team hiked up to 6km a day to carry out the repairs and, fortunately, for the bulk of the restoration work, the stone they required was lying adjacent to the wall. The missing capping stones were sourced from local quarries and donated by the National Trust.

The most most recent phase of the restoration project saw over 600 repairs undertaken along the structure – including a 27 metre collapse on Slieve Bernagh – as well as extensive path works. 

Originally estimated to take four years to complete, the project was completed in less than two, with contractor Geda Construction working in partnership with local stonemasons.

Hand built by the Belfast Water Commissioners between 1904 and 1922 to mark and protect the 9,000-acre water catchment which feeds the Silent Valley and Ben Crom Reservoirs, the wall has been a listed building since 1996 and today is in the ownership of NI Water.

In addition to the wall repairs, an extensive length of path works was undertaken in conjunction with Mourne Heritage Trust to future-proof the restoration work and protect the integrity of the wall.

NI Water’s Director of Asset Delivery, Paul Harper, said as part of the organisation’s commitment to caring for historic estates, it undertook surveys along the entire stretch of the wall in 2016 and set in place funding for a programme of wall and path repairs to get underway the following year.

“Less than two years on, I am delighted that this initial phase of work has been successfully completed and would like to thank the Mourne Heritage Trust, Environment Agency, National Trust and Trustees of Mourne for their guidance and assistance throughout the project,” he said.

“I would also pay tribute to the strenuous efforts exerted by the contractors and wider project team in reaching this milestone so quickly.”

Mr Harper added: “While this phase of restoration has been funded through NI Water’s current capital works programme, we are aware that the wall may suffer further deterioration in the future. “We are committed to undertaking subsequent surveys and, subject to funding, carrying out repairs during the next six-year capital works programme which commences in April 2021.”

Mourne Heritage Trust chief executive, Martin Carey, said its knowledge of upland path works enabled the organisation to work with NI Water to design a repair programme that both were confident would make sections of the Mourne Wall corridor on Slieve Donard robust into the future. “Accordingly, as well as preserving the integrity of the wall’s foundations, the path works will protect a wide corridor of European designated heathland that was undergoing loss due to ever-widening erosion scars as visitors tried to find a ‘walkable’ route,” he explained.

“With almost 90,000 journeys recorded on our pedestrian visitor counter on Slieve Donard – and this figure showing an upward trend year on year – it is vital that such works are undertaken to sustain the access to Northern Ireland’s highest peak that is valued by so many.”

Local politicians are also pleased work to repair the wall, which took approximately 18 years to build and was completed in 1922, has concluded.

They say the important project has helped carefully restore and improve parts of the wall, enhancing environmental protection and tourism in a beautiful scenic area.

South Down MP, Chris Hazzard, said since repair work started, the restoration project has caught the attention of the wider public with the project featuring in the recent BBC ‘Chronicles of Mourne’ series, adding: “I welcome the completion of this project and congratulate all the team involved.”

Newry, Mourne and Down Council chairman, Mark Murnin, said the Mournes are popular with tourists, hill walkers, expedition groups, day trippers and many more. 

“The iconic granite wall not only provides shelter to walkers, but it is also a recognised navigation route, often referred to as ‘the handrail’,” he explained.

“The council is delighted that this much-loved historic asset has been carefully restored and paths along Slieve Donard reinstated to provide environmental protection and facilitate walking tourism in this beautiful scenic area.”