Retaining Wall Railings And Steps

The retaining wall, railings, and steps date from the 19th century and are located to the south of Holy Trinity Church on Trinity Road. The retaining wall is made of dressed or rubble Portland stone and features rock-faced masonry that reaches approximately 5 meters in height. It has a straight joint with dressed quoins on each side near the church vestry, then curves into a splayed section of dressed square stone before transitioning into a straight rubble section to the south, which has a slightly higher coping due to the rising ground.

This entire structure supports 17 bays of spearhead railings, which stand between 1.6 and 1.7 meters tall, featuring scrolled standards with urns, although many urns are missing. The upper level of the wall is the western end of Trinity Terrace. At the southern end of the railed section, there is a parapet wall that matches the height of the railings and is capped at both ends by square piers. A raked section follows the line of a flight of nine stone steps, which are bordered on the inner (eastern) side by three additional bays of railing.

Historical records, specifically the Crickmay Contract Drawings for Holy Trinity Church, refer to part of this wall as 'New wall built by Corporation' and indicate that some of the railings were to be reclaimed from the south side of the church for reuse here. While there are many substantial stone retaining walls in the area, this particular section is especially significant to the townscape adjacent to the church and steps, and it retains much of its original walling and railings in largely untouched condition.