Firestone Bay Sea Wall, Royal William Victualling Yard

The Firestone Bay sea wall, located at the Royal William Victualling Yard in Plymouth, was constructed in 1827 by Sir John Rennie Junior for the Victualling Board. This sea wall is made of limestone rubble and ashlar, featuring a concave shape in both plan and section. It runs along the southeast side of the Yard and includes a torus moulding beneath a shouldered coping at the top of the parapet. In the center of the wall, there is a segmental-arched entrance that was once part of a tunnel through the Rear Retaining Wall into the Yard, although this entrance is now blocked. The wall was built to utilize surplus material from the Yard's excavation and to provide an alternative sea entrance. Its substantial masonry contributes to the impressive southern boundary of one of the finest and most complete early 19th-century industrial complexes in the country.