The Friends of Quarry

You may be aware that Masons Alley has been closed by the County Council Highways Authority due to safety concerns. The alley runs alongside the garden of the Masons Arms for much of its length. The issue is that the high wall within the garden of the Masons Arms has partially collapsed in two places.  The wall provides two functions, the lower (and more substantial) part of the wall retains the highway/alley above from collapsing into the garden and the higher part, which is well over one metre high, forms a boundary with Masons Alley. 

Masons Alley is in the heart of the Headington Quarry Conservation Area. The alleys and stone walls of Quarry are the most significant historic assets of the Conservation Area and are protected by that status. Demolition of a wall over 1m high fronting the public highway requires conservation area planning consent. 

Ownership of the wall has been in dispute between the owner of the Masons Arms and the County Highways Authority for some time. This has delayed maintenance work. Very recently and reluctantly County Highways has accepted responsibility for the ‘lower part’ of the wall on the basis it retains the footpath above. But they assert ownership of the ‘higher part’ of the wall (see photo) is unclear because the date of its construction is not known – it may be later than the date when the path was adopted.  This is an assertion which we (Friends of Quarry) have disputed. It does not make sense.

County Highways has decided that they will repair the lower part of the wall but demolish much of the higher part and replace the demolished part with a metal railing. Work will start on 6 July.

Friends of Quarry has diligently tried to get this work stopped whilst alternative commercial approaches are explored. This has been to no effect. City Conservation has been weak in arguing a case for retention of the wall and County Highways have stated they have legal right to do the work without conservation approval. 

We believe replacement of the stone wall with a metal barrier would set an unacceptable precedent and undermine the basis and purpose of the Headington Quarry Conservation Area status. This situation is not an isolated example. There are many other stone walls in Quarry which front the public highway, have a retaining section and ownership is unclear. 

The Oxford Sausage have recently published an excellent article about the Quarry.

If you are invested in finding out more, Maurice East is leading a walking tour of Headington Quarry on Friday 24 July from 6.30pm to 8.30pm. Meet outside the Masons Arms. There is no charge but tickets must be reserved in advance.

Red valerian is very destructive when growing in stone or brick walls and is an increasing problem. It is now actively growing and this is a good time to deal with it.

If you don’t want to use chemicals we recommend cutting it down repeatedly in order to weaken the plant. Removing flowers will at least stop it setting seed and spreading. Be careful about trying to pull out the roots – they are likely to disturb the stone and mortar and this will require repair.

Alternatively you can try using a systemic weedkiller.

If you would like further advice please get in touch with us.

We have published our latest newsletter for residents.