Section of 100-year-old wall collapses in Winchester

The wall, connected to St John’s Mead on Beggar’s Lane, fell down late at night on Saturday, January 20.

Due to the collapse, one lane on the road is partially blocked. No-one is thought to have been walking in the vicinity when it collapsed.

Nick Fraser, who owns the property, told the Chronicle: “It came down at about 2am or 3am; I didn’t actually hear it. The council came down and they brought a digger or something, and they cleared it all back as it had fallen across the pavement on the other side of the road.

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“It was a complete shock and it’s a real pain in the neck. I have been in touch with the insurance company this morning, and we are still waiting for them to get back.”

The collapsed section of wall (Image: Chris Atkinson)

Mr Fraser said he is unsure what caused the wall to collapse, saying that he believes it to have been due to a combination of the recent cold and rainy weather and the age of the wall.

Barbara Miller, who lives across the road from St John’s Mead, said that she did not hear the wall collapsing.

She said: “I woke up at about 6am and saw flashing lights outside. I thought they were resurfacing the road at first!

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“It is such a shame it collapsed, as it is such an old wall. It must have been moisture or something. I have always wanted to see behind the blue door in the wall, so that is quite nice.

“Because the road is now down to one lane, we are a bit worried that vehicles will damage our wall, as we have quite a few big vehicles coming up and down the road.”

Winchester City Council has been contacted for comment.