High Bridge, retaining wall

Stone retaining wall with brick elements located to the rear of the main buildings fronting onto High Bridge Street. The wall separates the higher area of Half Moon Yard to the west from a lower yard on its eastern side. The wall is first illustrated on Oliver's map of 1830 apparently as a dividing wall between two adjoining ranges arranged along this line. The wall was originally constructd in uncoursed, roughly squared masonry, with a distinct batter, making the wall wider towards its base. This would indicate that the wall has always retained the ground behind it, rather than this ground being built up against it. Two brickwork elements have been added to the wall at its southern extent and close to the centre. These relate to later structures built over and onto the earlier wall. Four brick-arched, bricked up, fireplaces survive along the length of the wall. The wall also contains three buttressing pilasters, one in brick and two stone. The fireplaces match with rooms illustrated on the 1858 OS map. A wall to the north side of the rear yard is later than the retaining wall and appears to be a basement wall. Again the positioning of features on this wall relate to building ranges on the 1858 OS map. It is clear that both walls were lower ground floor or basement walls built to retain ground to the north and west of the yard as well as provide one face to the rooms of buildings along the side of the yard.