Chartwell Kitchen Garden Walls
Stabilisation of Chartwell Garden Walls
The Kitchen Garden walls were built in the 1930s in the grounds of Grade I Listed Chartwell House. A considerable proportion of the bricklaying was carried out by Winston Churchill himself with some assistance.
The brickwork walls were up to 3.4m high and comprised 1 brick thick panels between 2 brick square piers at around 5 metre centres. The walls were built on shallow foundations typically less than 0.5m and in some cases were retaining up to 0.6m heigh.
ACA were appointed to monitor walls on the whole site and identified this one as a major risk to public safety. The pathway was closed and temporary propping was installed.
The walls were excessively slender and exhibited a significant lean towards the garden measuring up to 230mm over the wall height and indicating a high risk of failure. Inspection revealed that cultivation in the Kitchen Garden had resulted in excavation deeper than the foundations along much of the wall, leading to differential settlement along the length of the wall.
Multiple remedial options were reviewed which included buttresses and other external propping methods. After consideration of the options, a design using Cintec anchors inserted into the full height of the pier was developed. The tile capping was removed to allow this work to be carried out and then later reinstated. Rectangular reinforced concrete bases at right angles to the wall were designed to locally underpin the wall and provide adequate stability for each pier. Following consultation with Historic England and other specialists, Listed Building Consent was granted.
The completed work resulted in no change to the external appearance of the walls. The loss of historic fabric was limited to a small amount of brickwork core drilled and removed from the centre of each pier. The South and East Kitchen Garden walls also require stabilisation and are currently temporarily propped. We have carried out preliminary design work for these sections and repair is scheduled for 2022.
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