What happened at Hallsands?

On a stormy night in January 1917, the Devon fishing village of Hallsands collapsed into the sea. The entire village was destroyed together with the livelihoods of its people. But it wasn’t nature that led to the dozens of homes being washed into the sea on a fateful night in January 1917.

How Hallsands was lost to the sea?

In the village of Hallsands the night of 26 January 1917 serves as a reminder of the folly on interfering with the sea. The tide was exceptionally high that night and couple with the fierce onshore winds the sea came pounding up the beach. It surged over the pebble ridge crashing across a wall into the houses beyond.

Why did the village of Hallsands fall into the sea?

At 8pm spring tides brought huge waves which crashed into the houses at roof height and destroyed the buildings behind the sea walls from above. The houses built on the empty chasms in the ledge collapsed and those on the rocks were battered by wind, waves and stones.

Can you visit Hallsands?

Just 5 minutes walk form the Lost village at Hallsands, which was swept away in winter storms in 1917. Unfortunately, you can’t walk down to the old village now because of cliff erosion, but there is a viewing platform form which you can see the lost village.

When did the Hallands landslide happen in Devon?

On 6 May 2012, the BGS Landslide Response Team received media alerts of a landslide affecting the famous ruined village of Hallsands, South Devon. It was reported that a 200 tonne, 10 m-long section of coastal cliff had collapsed damaging a stone barn and threatening the stability of a popular cliff-top viewing platform.

Where are the sand deposits in Hallsands Devon?

Landward of the platform is another steep cliff formed in the same mica schists and capped by head deposits. Head and raised beach deposits of sand and gravel are locally present on the platform top. Relatively little sand and gravel in the form of modern beach deposits is exposed at the base of the platform cliff at low tide.

How did the beach at Hallsands get eroded?

‘But the erosion over the past three weeks has happened all along this stretch of coast. ‘The continual storms have been eroding the shore like we’ve never see before. ‘You’ve got the beach at North Hallsands but you can also see damage at Beesands where more of the road to the left of the village has been eroded.

What was the result of the Hallsands village?

The result was that most inhabitants were forced to abandon their houses before they collapsed, but today the village has international renown within the Coastal Engineering fraternity, an example of the effect of coastal dredging when processes are not fully understood.