Colwyn Bay postcard: Sea defences
This granite postcard on the promenade at Rhos-on-Sea celebrates the work of successive generations to protect Colwyn Bay’s coastal infrastructure from storm damage and erosion.
The seafront was transformed in the 1840s when an embankment from Old Colwyn to what is now Colwyn Bay was built for the Chester to Holyhead railway. The proximity to the sea was a constant challenge for the London & North Western Railway, which reinforced the embankment’s base in 1890 after a landslip.
The promenade was built in sections from the 1870s. It kept the sea away from most of the railway embankment but needed its own protection. In 1901 the sea undermined the prom at Rhos-on-Sea. The council responded by installing “wattled groynes” at a cost of £132. Groynes were wooden walls at right angles to the shoreline.
Damage to the sea wall in the winter of 1950/51 cost over £27,000 to repair. In the 1980s a bank of rock was created off Rhos-on-Sea to protect the shoreline. The leeward side quickly became mooring place for boats.
By the late 20th century, the level of the beach had lowered, exposing the foot of the sea wall to erosion. The photo, courtesy of Conwy Archive Service, shows sea defence improvements in 1989. Notice how little sand there was.
In 2008 auditors warned that a sea-wall collapse at Colwyn Bay could cause £20m of damage to the A55 Expressway, the railway and other infrastructure. In 2010 the Old Colwyn end of the prom was closed for safety, because waves carved voids beneath the surface.
From 2011 to 2024, the sea wall was rebuilt in several phases. A new sea wall and new rock groynes were installed. The work included “recharging” the beach with two million tons of sand, which was dredged offshore and pumped to the beach. This raised the beach level by about five metres. Construction of the Porth Eirias watersports centre was also part of the project.
Click here for a map of the postcards' location.
Website of Conwy Archive Service
https://www.conwy.gov.uk/en/Resident/Libraries-Museums-and-Archives/Archives/Archives.aspx
 |
  |