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INTRODUCTION TO THE MILFORD-ON-SEA WEBPAGE.

The coast at Milford-on-Sea is discussed here separately from Hurst Spit - but please see the Hurst Spit webpage. In the past this small Milford urban area had a shingle beach in front of it. This beach was continuous with Hurst Spit and with the beach to the northwest at Hordle Cliff. It was, therefore, a natural piece of coast and part of the supply connection to Hurst Spit. There was no major problem. Now, because of a combination of natural retreat and the effect of specific, fixed, coastal protection for particular buildings and areas, the coast of Christchurch Bay is very irregular. Years ago, both the White House building at Milford-on-Sea and the main sea front were originally at the back of a good and regular shingle beach, as shown in old photographs. Changes have occurred and eventually there may be increased conflict between natural retreat and artificial structures. Understanding the matter is not simple. The eastern end of the Barton Sea Defences is causing some effective, clockwise coastal rotation, further east at Hordle; this rotation is also affecting beach alignments specifically at Milford-on-Sea. The landward end of Hurst Spit is, in any case, very complex. Fortunately, tsunamis, of earthquake origin are rare.

BEACH MATERIALS - FLINT SHINGLE:
Some Beach Shingle Increase at Milford-on-Sea

test test test test -- check

In January, 2018, and still there in December 2018,there was some shingle accumulation accretion at the main, Milford-on-Sea promenade, and also at the new concrete beach huts. The medium-sized, flint pebble shingle has been thrown up by occasional phases of storm waves. It is the indirect result of increased erosion east of Barton-on-Sea at Becton Bunny (Barton Golf Course) area and at Hordle Cliff nearby. As long as this process continues or even increases the supply system to Hurst Spit might retart. It would be complicated by the various sea defences, including concrete walls, rock armour and old timber groynes in the Milford area, but there a possibility of some longshore drift from the area to the east of Barton-on-Sea to Hurst Spit.

Sea defences at Milford-on-Sea may slow the natural shingle transport in places but it has not completely prevented the natural shingle transport to Hurst Spit. Was has happened is that buildings and promenades have been constructed over the years without allowing for natural retreat of the coast. There was once a good, continuous beach almost all along Christchurch Bay (see the old photographs) with much beach shingle and sand to the seaward of the White House at Milford. When this building was constructed there was probably little thought that this could be a coastal barrier almost preventing longshore drift and pebble supply to Hurst Spit. Another complication is that probably the concrete sea front at Milford-on-Sea might be too far seaward.
If you look at this area on Google Earth you will notice the rather irregular and piecemeal sea defences, although it must emphasised that there is not suggestion here of a continuous, high ugly barrier. It is just that natural processes, including recession, have been stopped by varied and irregular manner sea defences at specific point.

[ old pictures ]

The shingle beach in front of Milford-on-Sea is now very narrow and, in particular, very irregular. The coast should normally move landwards to some extent as a natural result of coastal erosion. However here it has been barred by concrete sea defences and larvickite rock armour at the landward end of Hurst Spit. If the area had been left in natural conditions there would have been a good continuous beach. However, there are houses there now that are well-separated from the sea by car parks and greens and so protective works are serving a purpose.

The artificial action or artificial obstacles to natural longshore drift are mainly the following:

1. Obstruction of natural beach transport by rock armour to the west of the White House.
2. Major obstruction by rock armour at the White House; and note that the southern part of the building projects seaward into the beach and there is much obstructive rock armour.
3. The main sea front at Milford-on-Sea is very irregular (with a car park projecting into the beach, and with a landward curving, sea wall (the main overtopping site) near the cafe (once with major flooding) to the southeast.
4. Then comes the larvikite rock armour, which is suprisingly high and it stops at relatively low seawall near the cafe (not on high ground).
5. Further southeast, beyond the fairly short but high barrier of rock armour the spit is consists of shingle which sometimes has to be replaced, at least in part, after major storms.

MILFORD AND HURST SPIT - TSUNAMI RISK - LOW BUT NOT IMPOSSIBLE

It is not impossible for, on very rare occasions, tsunamis or earthquake waves to hit the Hurst Spit, and presumably therefore Milford-on-Sea. There are occasionally, relatively mild earthquakes in the Chichester-Isle of Wight area, normally less than 5 intensity and are not normally associated with any large waves. Probably, although the matter has not been studied, a rare Atlantic Ocean tsunami wave could come up the English Channel and hit Hurst Spit. Of course, there is no record of very old ones. The main record is from 1882, almost 140 years back. At that date there would have been very little development near the beach at Milford-on-Sea.

Cole, A. 1926. [RE TSUNAMI OF 1882] Postmaster of Milford on Sea. Some Further Recollections of Milford, no. 23. Milford-on-Sea Record Society: Occasional Magazine, Volume 3, no 4, 1926.

Quote: "In September, 1882, a tidal wave [probably a tsunami from an earthquake] broke on the beach at Sturt [Sturt Pond, Milford-on-Sea, which is the lake adjacent to the landward end of Hurst Spit] filling up a considerable portion of Sturt Pond and the outlet, the salt water came up the Dane Stream, killing the fish, roach, carp, etc., and destroyed many of the apple trees in the gardens abutting on the stream. A new cutting was made near the original, but this soon filled up and the present one [in 1926] was made."
[important event - this was the last tsunami that is known to have hit the Hurst Spit. There may have been many in the distant past.]

MILFORD AND HURST SPIT - STORM EROSION

New Coastal Erosion and Deposition at Milford-on-Sea

[Major changes occurred in the 1 in 60 year (?) storm of 2014. Quite severe, but not as much as the 1824 hurricane, or the extreme and very destructive hurricane, Daniel Defoe's Storm, of 1703.]

For more on this topic (but including these photographs), please go to:

Coast Erosion east of the White House, Milford-on-Sea.

Yellowed seawater, shown below, has resulted from new erosion of the Headon Hill Formation at Hordle Cliff, as seen from the cliff top at the Milford-Hordle car park (the westernmost of the Milford cliff car parks). It is likely that the sea defences of other localities are now having some effect in increasing the erosion at the unprotected (and geologically important) Hordle Cliff. Much of the Headon Hill Formation (Upper Eocene)is yellow stained, when seen in the cliffs.

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Beach Huts Destroyed or Damaged - 2014

Unfortunately many beach huts were either damaged or destroyed at Milford-on-Sea in 2014. Surprisingly the concrete ones proved to vulnerable, in addition to timber huts. The concrete huts have been places at a relatively low level and there significant quantity of protective beach in front of them, except at low tide. Ideally they should have been higher and further back from the sea wall. That would not have stopped all flooding, but it might have avoided the smashing up by waves. I do not know why they are so low, but probably this corresponded to some former level of the former shingle beach here.

During fairly severe storm conditions in 2014 (about the 1 in 60 year intensity, not an extreme storm), many of the concrete beach huts of Milford-on-Sea were smashed by the waves. New ones have been build and completed in 2017. It is of course, optimistic to hope for very long term survical of new beach huts at a place like this, a type of promontory directly facing waves that can come from across the Atlantic. This is a very exposed place, unlike the more sheltered Bournemouth. There is some protection by a small amount of shingle and by some small groynes, but it is very limited. However, really big storms, and especially the major hurricanes, only take place at fairly distant intervals and, in any case, these huts may well be stronger than the old ones. They are not conspicuous or ugly and the casual visitor, walking from the car park may not, at first, even realise that they are there (seen from the car park behind, they just looks like a sea wall).

Paddy's Gap to the White House (Milford-on-Sea)
- Coast Erosion and Storm Activity

The changes seen from 2014 to 2016 are mainly just degradation, with the footpath moved back inland a short distance. All looks fairly normal again - until the next really big storm here. The cliff may move inland only rarely, during a great storm, but it has attacked and there has definately been a small coastal retreat. There will be another, of course. It is now expected, whereas it may not have been previously. The sea is naturally advancing here in spite of obstacles placed by humans, and Christchurch Bay will continue its natural growth and development. The problem is not one of steady rate but of the frequency of occurrence of rare, great storms. It may take off a chunk of cliff in the night and then be peaceful and do nothing for years.

Christchurch Bay is a very shallow bay, at least the landward part. It is mostly less than 10m. deep. The cliffs of the bay are largely twice to three times this. This shallow stretch of water is the youngest bay around in the region (Velegrakis et al., 1999) and very rapidly inundated. It was initiated by fast flooding and erosion at the astonishingly recent date of only 7,500 years BP (before the present). By comparison the Pyramids in Egypt were built at about 4576 years BP. This modern and rapid sea encroachment should move on inland into the New Forest area in a short while (geologically speaking). In this perspective, it is not surprising that Christchurch Bay enlarges rapidly, although probably not quite as fast as the similar Brighstone Bay on the Isle of Wight. Both are open to southwesterly storm waves from the Atlantic, and both show coasts with obvious erosion (which is why they are good for fossils).

West of the White House, there is evidence of continued erosion above the concrete and rock armour sea defences. Sea level is slowly rising and storms are becoming stronger. They are probably just beginning their process of attacking above sea defences in the region. This may be just an individual case and it is partly just normal retreat. However, it is influenced by the unusual, coastal orientiation problems, caused by the Barton rock armour sea defences (that have shut off some beach sediment supply) and also by changes in the beach at Hordle Cliff. As is well-known, Christchurch Bay has no overall and consistent sea defence scheme. Local sections put up their own barriers (holding back sediment) without concern for anyone down drift. The most obvious case is Barton-on-Sea, once a major source supplier of pebbles (and reworked fossils) to Hurst Spit. The concern there is to preserve houses on the cliff top, without looking too far down drift. It is too late now to repair Christchurch Bay to natural equilibrium without enormous cost and increased risk to houses. Incidently, watch for the possible development of a new Hurst Spit, east of Milford-on-Sea. Pebbles are largely stopped by concrete east of Milford, and as Becton Bay develops further, as a result of Barton-on-Sea defences, then further re-alignment and new Hurst Spit development is a possibility.

(Early signs of a second, new and eastern, Hurst Spit will be looked for. Look around the eastern Hordle Cliff car park. Is any build-up happening. Are there any very early indications? A change in beach orientation has happened recently. However, are changes only small at the moment? Is this a question for the long term future? The answer will probably depend on future erosion and destruction at Becton Bay, i.e. Barton Golf Course. Whatever the case, it would be strange if the Barton-on-Sea sea defences had no further effect on the Milford-on-Sea coast, eastward, down-drift. Bear in mind, though, that Christchurch Bay is naturally retreating and the sea is winning the battle at a slow rate. This has been going on for 7500 years, the youthful age of the bay, and shows no signs of stopping.)

The short stretch of coast from Paddy's Gap to the White House is very interesting. It is the part of Christchurch Bay which is most depleted in terms of beach material. This was not the case in the past, and thus its cause is an interesting problem. The relatively low cliff is protected by a sea wall with gravel at the back and, now, rock armour (largely Carboniferous Limestone) in front. Presumably this has been required because of the risk of rapid coastal reatreat which might take place. Apart from the White House, there is no housing immediately on the cliff top, but it is not far back from the cliffs.

Thus, this is an interesting place to observe problems of the horizontal proximity of the sea to the location of the cliff top. There is a very narrow cliff and no beach at high tide. The sea wall is not very high but is regularly maintained. Gaps could be filled with rock armour and gravel, should they appear. However, the longer term prospects are interesting to consider. Rising sea level and more storms are very likely to cause problems here over the next 100 years. Quite apart from a probable rise in sea-level or 60 cm or a metre over a hundred years, major storm events may take place. In any case, the great 1824-type hurricane has not yet returned. When this one-in-250 year event happens again, as, of course, it will then the sea attack here could be very serious, much more so than shown in the photographs below.

This storm in the morning of a day in January, 1998 hit the Hordle coastline quite severely (anyone interested could probably find meteorological records regarding the storm). The photographs shown here were taken at Rook Cliff, Milford on Sea, east of the main Hordle Cliff geological section. ,where there are some sea-defences. The location of photography was from the eastern side of a car-park (map reference SZ 282917) on the greensward at the western end of Milford. In the distance is the old sea-front hospital, with a characteristic horseshoe-shaped plan. There is a promenade and sea-wall at the foot of the cliff here and groynes commence at this location and are placed at intervals between here and the building in the distance, as can be seen in the photographs. They seem to be little consequence in these conditions. The storm waves are oblique to the coast and are coming from a southwesterly direction, that of maximum fetch. These can come up the English Channel, just missing the Brittany Peninsula, to the south, and just missing the Isle of Purbeck peninsula, not far away. The southwesterly direction is that of the prevailing wind and storms from this direction are common occurrences when Atlantic depressions and fronts hit the region in the winter. Thus big waves, perhaps originating from the Atlantic, can occasionally attack the coast from Barton-on-Sea eastward to Hordle Cliff, Milford-on-Sea and Hurst Castle Spit (and the western Isle of Wight). Highcliffe, further west is, of course, not completely safe from major wave attack but is protected to some extent not only by the Isle of Purbeck, but also by the promontory of Hengistbury Head. Relatively shallow water can reduce the wave effect to some extent. Nevertheless this is an interesting stretch of coast in geomorphological terms, because it has the combination of cliffs of poorly consolidated clay, sand and gravel and the occasional subjection to major storm waves from the southwest.

We can now consider the details of the particular storm event. The waves were impacting on the sea-wall of the promenade and throwing water and spray high so that it could reach to top of the cliffs, only at about 10m here. Sea-water then ran back seaward down the cliffs eroding Pleistocene gravel and carrying down to the promenade and the sea. This brown gravel is the cause of discolouration of the sea-water. The gravel was churned up in the waves and then thrown back again up the cliff. Gravel thus landed on the cliff top and in one of the photographs an individual pebble in movement in the air can be seen. The showering of gravel on the cliff-top made the author aware that he had parked his car in an unsatisfactory place (quite apart from the sever wind-buffeting and the salt-water wash) and although impact damage to the windscreen was only minor the visit was necessarily curtailed. In the afternoon the wind-speed decreased to more normal conditions.

Milford-on-Sea is at the eastern end of Christchurch Bay. The prevailing winds are from the southwest and thus the dominant long-shore drift is towards the east. In natural conditions, without the presence of major sea-defences hindering supply and movement, shingle from the Pleistocene gravels of Barton-on-Sea and Hordle Cliff is transported eastward along the beach to Milford-on-Sea and thence to Hurst Castle Spit (where, indeed, some Barton fossils are found). The normal consequence of this is a build-up of beach material at Milford and this has, in the past, probably retarded cliff retreat. The offshore bar, which would also have consisted of material drifted from the west, would also have provided some protection by moderating the effect of waves. The photograph above shows a small part of the beach in its natural condition in 1932. At this time the beach was wide and the berm rose to almost the level of the land surface at this location. The crest shows oblique ridges because of some alignment to a mild promontory at Rook Cliff and Hordle Cliff to the west of this. Thus in natural circumstances Milford is to some extent a location of accretion whereas Barton is primarily a location of erosion and supply of pebbles. Conditions have changed now but Milford-on-Sea has probably been subject to a low rate of coast erosion in the past because of the broad protective beach and the offshore bar. The natural sea-defences have largely been lost now but the concrete and blocks of Carboniferous Limestone, the main artificial substitutes, seem to be holding firmly, at least for the present. The landward beach limit or effective cliff-line has retreated a little beyond the trend of the wall, especially on the east side (the down-drift side) of the concrete defences shown.

COAST EROSION AT MILFORD-ON-SEA continued:

The White House at Milford-on-Sea

At Milford-on-Sea, the most impressive feature of the sea-front is the White House. This was built in 1902 by the Walker-Munro family, colliery millionaires of Rhinefield House in the New Forest. This summer sea-side residence became a children's hospital from 1938 to 1983, and in 1999 was restored by Colten Developments Ltd. It is a nice building of historic interest. It is also of geomorphological significance as marker with regard to coastline recession and longshore drift of gravel, and is referred to again below (see 1938 ). It originally had a broad beach in front of it, but it is now protected by a small promontory of sea defences.

Coast retreat is clearly seen at the White House from the above photograph. One is from 1932 and the other one from 2003.

The seafront at Milford-on-Sea is important to Hurst Spit because it is the feeder area, through which in the past the shingle from the Barton and Hordle cliffs reached the spit. A aerial photograph of the White House, the conspicous white building to the west of the small town (and mentioned above), was taken in 1932. It shows the two lookout or viewpoint buildings aligned with the back of the beach. As mentioned above, it was built in 1902. Its exact relationship to the beach at that time is not known, but since coast erosion here has been progressive it is probable that the beach was even wider or further to south in 1902 than in 1932 . Notice, incidently, that in 1838 the narrow concrete wall, oblique to the coast, was already in existence already. Perhaps, there had already been some threat of coast erosion. I wonder why it is not parallel to the sea frontage of the building; perhaps it was intended to trap the southeast-moving gravel.

In 1938, unlike the present day, there was a wide beach that seems not to have been significantly damaged or destroyed by sea defences to the west. Shingle could then pass by long-shore drift from west to east (in accordance with prevailing southwesterly winds) and supply Hurst Spit.

The photograph of the White House on the 6 May 2001 by the Channel Coastal Observatory, shows a very different situation. Much rock armour has been placed in front, and there is more of this further west. Now shingle cannot easily pass the various obstructions, of which this is only one. In any case it cannot proceed further southeast because of major sea defences at the Milford end of Hurst Spit.

COAST EROSION AT MILFORT-ON-SEA continued:

Milford-on-Sea - the Main Sea Front

The short stretch of low coast at Milford-on-Sea contrasts with the cliffed coast of most of Christchurch Bay. In historic times this area has receded more or less in line with the adjacent Hurst Spit. Now, however, Hurst Beach is a little further back but is protected at this end by a high embankment of larvikite rock armour. This part should resist even very severe hurricanes. The sea front area at Milford has much lower concrete sea walls, although they defend against normal storms. The land behind is mostly above the possible flood level of the Environment Agency Flood Maps. In fact, it does not seem to suffered much recently, apart from some minor washover at the southeastern end. Whether the lower sea defences here, though, will protect against washover from a severe hurricane with storm surge, like the 1824 event, is not known. Whether there will be any longterm future problem here with global warming and rising sea level is not known either (if necessary, perhaps it might be possible to continue the larvikite rock armour bank westward across the car park, so that a strong and high sea wall would exist from the White House area, Milford, southeast to the southeastern end of the larvikite on Hurst Spit.)

COAST EROSION AT MILFORD-ON-SEA:
Sea Encroachment in 1953

Newspaper report: Anonymous (1953). Sea encroaches 30-40 feet. New Milton Advertiser, 25 July 1953, p.1. Article not seen, but referred to by Delair (2007).

COAST EROSION AT MILFORD-ON-SEA continued:

Hurst Spit and its Relationship to Milford-on-Sea

Hurst Castle Spit is discussed in detail in a separate but associated webpage - Hurst Spit. It is, however, relevant to mention it here in relation to movement of beach material from and past Hordle Cliff and in relation to Milford-on-Sea. The spit represents the destination of subangular flint gravel travelling by long-shore drift eastward from the supply cliffs of Highcliffe, Barton-on-Sea and Hordle Cliff. The supply from Highcliffe and Barton has been cut by sea-defences long ago but the beach at Hordle Cliff has remained quite wide, at least until recently. There has been much residual gravel and the increased erosion at Beacon Cliff must have helped. In addition there has been some realignment of the trend of the beach (probably a very small clockwise shift in the Hordle Cliff area) which has had its effect.

The natural overall retreat of the coast must have caused some concern at Milford-on-Sea back in the 1950s because at about that time some defences were constructed there (as indicated by old photographs). The sea-defences have been strengthened there (see the images above regarding Milford) and now it is very difficult for shingle to pass eastward of Milford beach. The Hordle Cliff, Barton and Highcliffe shingle is not able to reach the spit. At the landward end of this geomorphological feature some sea-defences in the form of rock armour were added. This seems to protected part of the beach but reduced shingle supply eastward. Thus, in February 1979, the sea almost breached the beach directly east of the sea-defences and the beach ridge was stepped back out of line. Later, after after a major flattening of the shingle spit by the sea, Hurst Spit was rebuilt from larvikite and dredged shingle. For more information on Hurst Spit and on its artificial reconstruction see: the Hurst Spit webpage.

Shingle Movement at Milford, early 2018.

[spume or sea foam]

Although absent most of the time, sea foam or spume occurs from time to time during major storms at Milford-on-Sea (usually in the region of the sea walls near the White House and the beach huts). It is a common white foaming substance. It often comes from offshore algae, but is sometimes regarded as a type of material derived from marine pollution. An algal origin seems more probable here, but I am not aware of a specific study of it.

See this extract from Wikipedia:

"Sea foam, ocean foam, beach foam, or spume is a type of foam created by the agitation of seawater, particularly when it contains higher concentrations of dissolved organic matter (including proteins, lignins, and lipids) derived from sources such as the offshore breakdown of algal blooms. These compounds can act as surfactants or foaming agents. As the seawater is churned by breaking waves in the surf zone adjacent to the shore, the surfactants under these turbulent conditions trap air, forming persistent bubbles that stick to each other through surface tension. -- Due to its low density and persistence, foam can be blown by strong on-shore winds from the beach face inland."

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For additional information see:
The Lymington Times, January 12th, 2018. New Beach withstand a storm force battering. Hundreds of tons of shingle thrown on to rebuilt prom. By Roz Waters.
"A 2.3 million [pounds sterling] improvement scheme incorporating 119 new beach huts has withstood a major test after hundreds of tons of shingle were hurled onto a promenade during recent storms. The beach huts which were officially opened in May 2017 were inspected by New Forest District Council's coastal engineering team last week, following storm force winds and waves in late December and early January. A combination of spring tides and several days of unsettled weather were blamed for dislodging a number of paving slabs from the sea front promenade close to the Needles Eye Cafe on Hurst Road. The coastal team estimated that between 400 and 500 tonnes of shingle was swept onto the lower promenade in front of the new beach huts, and waves overtopping the coastal defences also deposited shingle in the sea front car parks. A specialist recording buoy close to the coast at Milford showed wave heights averaging 3m. in conditions which are expected to occur about four times a year. However a spokesman for New Forest District Council explained that the height of the storm occurred over a period of spring tides, combining with a storm surge of 0.6m. leading to larger than normal waves. ....." continues.

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. LOCATION: MILFORD-ON-SEA, FAR WESTERN CAR PARK (NEAR THE EASTERN END OF HORDLE CLIFF)

(known as: "Milford-on-Sea, Hordle Cliff West, Car Park" or similar description)
(or "Milford-Hordle-West" - a cliff and shingle beach area with beach huts and some erosion problems in 2019)

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Embayment with shingle and Beach Huts at the westermost, seafront car park of Milford-on-Sea just before the main road swings inland, and just before Hordle Cliff, which is immediately to the west.
[Coming from Milford-on-Sea, this is the last car park westward on the coast road, just before the main Hordle Cliff exposure and the high ground; it is notable in having many beach huts, down the cliff, in an embayment with a broad beach; this is the western-most part of Milford-on-Sea. West of here the coast road swings inland. The Taddiford Gap or Long Mead End location is the next one to the west.]

[N.B. The name "Milford-on-Sea, Hordle Cliff, West Car Park" might be misunderstood; the car park is west of the other Milford-on-Sea car parks, and near Hordle Cliff. Note that the location is actually east, not west, of the main Hordle Cliff exposures of the Headon Hill Formation.]

. INTRODUCTION TO MILFORD-WEST-HORDLE BEACH AND CLIFFS (WITH BEACH HUTS)

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Above is a 1957 aerial photograph of the cliffs adjacent to the Milford-Hordle-West car park, i.e. the westernmost of the Milford-on-Sea coastal car parks. It shows the present cliff features, including in general, vegetation and beach huts, were in existence in 1957.

Notes (July 2020). The photograph immediately above shows almost the same place as the 1957 photograph (further above) at beach level, as seen in the year 2020. The beach is still wide here and the cliffs are not being eroded just here. There is much active erosion at Hordle Cliff and Taddiford Gap further west in 2020.

[computer locating code: hutcliff]

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[2015 - at Milford-Hordle car park]

[2019 - at Milford-Hordle car park - same place as above]

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[position marker - 22Jan2020. corrected.]

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[erosion - specific]

[fenced off - early]

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Aerial Photographs

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Milford-Hordle-West continued - Erosion at the Concrete Corner

Towards the east-southeastern end of the shingle beach at the Milford-West-Hordle car park there is a concrete sea-wall. The corner of this wall (i.e. the west-south-western end) is a good indicator of the extent of erosion that has taken place. Drastic changes have been seen within a few days or a week or so.

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Milford-Hordle-West continues - Beach Huts and Erosion

It is very unfortunate for the owners of beach huts that several, perhaps many, have had to be removed because the shingle was being eroded away from beneath them. At least one has toppled down onto the lower level of the beach. Sooner or later there will be relatively few beach huts left at the east-south-eastern area of the beach here.

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Introduction

Hordle Cliff is well-known as a place of historic coastal retreat; in fact the whole village of Hordle has been moved inland as a consequence of this. In recent times, though, there has been some substantial accumulation of beach shingle in the area near the Hordle Cliff West car park and there has been little coastal retreat just there (but much in the Taddiford - Becton Bunny area, further west). However, in 2018 and 2019 there seems to be a new phase of reduction of beach width near the so-called "Hordle Cliff West" car park, actually east of Hordle Clay. The beach reduction is marked near the eastern seaward corner of the car park, and near the eastern limit of the beach huts. A photograph above illustrates this. The erosional effects are limited at the moment, but some more landward retreat would not be surprising here. The matter is not simple because the erosion is close to the southeastern end of the large stretch of shingle beach without major sea defences. It might be expected that shingle, which moves in general from west to east by longshore drift, should accumulate near the projecting and presumably-retarding, concrete sea defences. However, it is not banking up on a large scale, but seems to be travelling on to some extent towards Milford-on-Sea (where there is now significant shingle accumulation). The matter is not, at present, fully understood here.

Small Pebble Size.

The pebbles adjacent to the beach huts near the "Hordle Cliff West Car Park" [i.e Milford West] are surprisingly small, about 2.5cm in length, for the area and the wave size. They are the usual material, i.e. reworked subangular, Pleistocene flint pebbles, and are very well-sorted.

It is a reasonable to consider just how secure, re erosion, the foot of the cliff at "Hordle Cliff West Car Park" is likely to be in a decade or two. Obviously, the chances are better if a good pebble beach remains. It may not, necessarily, retreat any further, but no definate predictions on its future stability can be made. Timber beach huts have all been destroyed or removed, further west at Milford-on-Sea, seafront after the 2014 storm. However, they were in a relatively vulnerable position and they have since been replaced by rows of new concrete beach huts (see Milford-on-Sea webpage ). Presumably the huts near the "Hordle Cliff West" car park survived the 2014 storm, at least partly because of the particular natural protection given by the beach. So, apart from the unusual concrete huts at Milford-on-Sea (and a few remaining timber huts, east of the White House) they are the most extreme easterly ones of Christchurch Bay [wave action can be potentially greater in eastern Christchurch Bay than western, because the southwestern waves arriving there from the Atlantic can easily pass Durston Head, Swanage].

Milford-on-Sea, Erosion and Sea Defences).

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Historic Comparison

Compare the following two photographs, from the same place, west of Milford-on-Sea, as seen in 2003 and 2019. There has recently been some more landward movement of beach shingle up from the low beach and onto the high promenade, which is now largely covered in shingle. Some beach huts have been removed. Obviously the sea continues its advance, although this is here seen to have been at a moderate rate, not a particularly fast one. The rock armour is almost unchanged.

[LOCATION MARKER - HIGH HUTS - highhuts ]

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. LOCATION: MILFORD-ON-SEA, FAR WESTERN CAR PARK - SUPPLEMENT - 23rd FEBRUARY 2019

(known as: "Milford-on-Sea, Hordle Cliff West, Car Park" or similar description)

Selected Extracts from - Lymington Times Newspaper, Friday 22nd Feb. 2019.

"Beach hut demolition fury" [relevant to Coastal Recession]

"Owner are furious after 20 beach huts worth thousands of pounds were ordered to be demolished by New Forest District Council. They have been instructed to take down the structures without compensation on part of the foreshore at Hordle Cliff, near Milford, where erosion has swept the shingle from underneath. The area has been cordoned off and four are deemed to be at such risk of toppling over that they have been condemned by the NFDC and given a week to be taken down. Sixteen more owners have 90 days to take action. Owners are angry at NFDC for not doing more to prevent the erosion and claim that they have been left at the mercy of the elements. Some have suggested that space could be found nearby for them to move their beach huts. But the council says it has made people aware of the danger repeatedly in correspondence since several huts were destroyed by a storm in February 2014, and owners had to apply for planning permission to replace them. Fighting erosion there was "not economically justified", it said. ..... continues.

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LOCATION AND STRATIGRAPHY:

Paddy's Gap Area, Milford-on-Sea
- Unio Bed (No. 31)

Between the Hordle Cliff car park at Milford-on-Sea and the Paddy's Gap car park there are small but interesting cliff exposures of the Unio Bed (No. 30) and associated strata. The shining, "mother-of-pearl" shells of the freshwater mussel "Unio" are common here, but often broken. They are not the most abundant fossils. Gastropods, particularlyViviparus lentus (Solander), are conspicuous in almost every unit here. The very small gastropod Potamaclis turritissima (Forbes) is easily recognised by its descriptive name, but almost needs a handlens to see it well. At the base of the fossiliferous beds in the cliff is a thin band with numerous seeds of the Water Soldier or Water Aloe. These were known in Victorian times as Carpolithes but are now placed in the genus Stratiotes.

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PLEISTOCENE - LOCATION:

Pleistocene Sarsen Stone near Paddy's Gap

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PETROLEUM GEOLOGY - LOCATION:

Hurst Castle Prospect (Partly offshore from Hordle Cliff and with possibility of drilling from nearby Downton)

(Lymington and New Milton, Hampshire - Petroleum Exploration License - PDL089 - Wessex Exploration Ltd.)

Part of the New Forest region near Lymington has been under investigation for petroleum resources by Wessex Exploration Ltd. Details will be found by going to their website at: Wessex Exploration Limited (not necessarily available now).

Here is a small extract from the start of the webpage to draw attention to their work. Particularly see the good maps. Note the information on the Hurst Castle Prospect.

"Wessex Exploration Limited, bidding on its own in the 9th Landward Bid Round was awarded Petroleum Exploration and Development License (PEDL) 089 on 4 September, 2000. PEDL 089 is located in southern Hampshire near the towns of Lymington and New Milton, on the mainland opposite the western end of the Isle of Wight. The work obligation for the initial term of the PEDL was met when Northern Petroleum drilled the Bouldnor Copse 1 well, and fifty percent of the PEDL was relinquished in September, 2006. The PEDL is now in its second exploration period.

Wessex on 11 September, 2002 made an "Out of Round" application for a Petroleum Production License over the area immediately offshore from and adjacent to PEDL 089. Wessex was awarded License P1153 over this offshore area, effective 3 October, 2003. The primary term of this license expired in October, 2007, but was renewed by DBERR into a second exploration period.

A preliminary structural map of the Hurst Castle Prospect at the Sherwood Sandstone level is shown. Estimated P10 oil-in-place is of the order of 190 million barrels for the Sherwood reservoir alone, with possible recoverable reserve of 36 million barrels. A separate structural map shows four-way dip closure offshore, with possible P50 recoverable reserves in the 16 million barrel range." ... [continues].

See further details of the Hurst Castle Prospect.

They report that the Hurst Castle Prospect has potential recoverable reserves of the order of 36 million barrels from the Sherwood reservoir, in a Wytch Farm type fault-block feature. The primary reservoir is the Triassic Sherwood Sandstone. The Bridport Sands is a secondary objective as is the Frome Limestone (Great Oolite). In the same region an exploratory well was drilled at Boulder Copse across the West Solent on the Isle of Wight. The results were negative but Wessex Petroleum did not consider that this impacts on the prospectivity of the Hurst Castle objective.

Note that it is of interest regarding the New Forest National Park that the reservoir objectives are the same as those of Shell at Denny Inclosure (Lyndhurst - A).

Milford-on-Sea-Miscellaneous

SELECTED REFERENCE

[Some particular papers may be listed here in connection with specific matters. See the Hurst Spit webpage for more papers relevant to the general region.]

Baker, K. 2018. Beach hut owners are forced to climb a vertical 12ft wall of pebbles to their £20,000 cabins after the council refuses to replenish shingle bank washed away by high tides. Beach hut owners cannot access them thanks to shingle being washed away. Owners of the £20,000 huts pay hundreds of pounds every year in ground rent They want the local authority to top up the beach with stones and pebbles. But New Forest District Council says this is a natural occurrence and won't pay. Daily Mail article. https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5735567/Beach-hut-owners-left-high-dry-council-refuses-replenish-shingle-bank.html [This is not true re a "vertical wall" - there is a sloping bank of beach shingle of course; however beach huts are and have been definately at risk; by the 30th March 2020, several beach huts have been damage and some have been removed. It would not be surprising if natural coastal retreat necessitated the removal of some beach huts.]
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Cole, A. 1926. [RE THE HURST SPIT TSUNAMI OF 1882] Postmaster of Milford on Sea. Some Further Recollections of Milford, no. 23. Milford-on-Sea Record Society: Occasional Magazine, Volume 3, no 4, 1926.

"In September, 1882, a tidal wave [probably a tsunami from an earthquake] broke on the beach at Sturt filling up a considerable portion of Sturt Pond and the outlet, the salt water came up the Dane Stream, killing the fish, roach, carp, etc., and destroyed many of the apple trees in the gardens abutting on the stream. A new cutting was made near the original, but this soon filled up and the present one [in 1926] was made."

[note re Milford Hordle West - Car Park - Beach]

Nicholls, R.J. and Webber, N.B. 1987b. Coastal erosion in the eastern half of Christchurch Bay. In: Culshaw, M.G., Bell, F.G., Cripps, J.C. and O'Hara, M. (eds), 1987. Planning and Engineering Geology. Geological Society, London, Engineering Geology Special Publication, No. 4, pp. 549-554.
This paper discusses Hurst Spit before the natural feature was broken through and largely destroyed by storm erosion. Although it is out-of-date now with regard to Hurst Spit, it contains subject matter, still relevant to the beach at Hordle. Fig. 4 on p. 552 shows movement (lateral movement, up and down beach) of high water mark from 1867 (used as a reference line) to 1982. In particular, there was a major change shown peaking in 1982, of beach development at the Milford West Hordle car park. The beach had actually extended seaward (built-out) by 60 metres in 1982. This 1982 growth was the largest seaward development in the region. Because of the date of the paper, it is not clear as to what has happened since. (At the White House, there was retreat of the beach by 40 metres at the same date).

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I am particularly grateful to Claire Osborne and Jan Wise for valuable information on coastal processes and coastal history in the Milford-on-Sea area. This is much appreciated.

MORE SELECTED REFERENCES

Solent - Geology Bibliography - General
Solent - Geology Bibliography - Topics, Alphabetically

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Nicholls, R.J. and Webber, N.B. 1987. Coastal erosion in the eastern half of Christchurch Bay. From: Culshaw, M.G., Bell, F.G., Cripps, J.C. and O'Hara, M. (eds.) 1987. Planning and Engineering Geology. Geological Society Engineering Geology, Special Publication, No. 4, pp. 549-554. [written before the natural shingle of Hurst Spit had been almost breached, and much was lost; subsequently there was artificial replenishment of shingle]
Abstract: Christchurch Bay has a long history of shoreline recession and this has given rise to some major coastal engineering problems. An area of particular concern is Hurst Spit at its eastern end where the maximum rate of recession has increased from 1.5 metres per annum (1867-1968). Hurst Castle itself is now subject to wave attack on part of its frontage. The littoral sediment movement was assumed to be essentially continuous around Christchurch Bay [it certainly is not now! -imw] but, in fact, a littoral drift sub-cell boundary (i.e. a partial barrier to littoral drift) is present in the vicinity of Hordle Cliff. Therefore, the increased recession of Hurst Beach is a local problem. Milford-on-Sea is situated on a thick sequence of Pleistocene Gravels, whose erosion contributed substantially to the maintenance of Hurst Castle Spit [Hurst Spit] as a major physiographic feature. However, a series of coast protection works were constructed to protect Milford-on-Sea between 1936 and 1968, removing this important source of sediment. In the long term, without any human interference, recession rates upt 6m per annum will probably occur along Hurst Beach. A breach of Hurst Beach is a major concern, as it would create an island at Hurst Caste and expose the vulnerable low-lying, northern coast of the West Solent, including the village of Keyhaven to increased wave attack and tidal scour. Ecologically important saltmarshes would also be destroyed. Shingle renourishment is the only environmental acceptable engineering solution. Limited renourishment has already commenced. Any cost benefit decisions must consider the wider implications of a breach in Hurst Beach, including environemental and ecological considerations. This case study demonstrates the importance of a detailed understanding of both the littoral and offshore sediment movement for the planning coast protection.

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APPENDIX - MISCELLANEOUS NOTES

PADDY'S GAP SECTION

[location, cliff section, west of the White House, Milford-on-Sea, now with the Paddy's Gap Car Park, on the cliff top.]

Extract from: Osborne White, H.J. 1915, The Geology of the Country near Lymington and Portsmouth. Geological Survey of England and Wales, Explanation of Sheets 330 and 331 (Mainland). 78pp. Based on the paper: Elwes, W. 1883. The Middle Headon Marine Bed at Hordwell. Geological Magazine, 1883, pp. 527, 528.

At Paddy's Gap a trial-pit, opened by Messrs. H. Keeping and J.W. Elwes in 1883, with the object of settling a tiresome controversy concerning the position of the marine Headon Beds in the Hordle Cliff section, revealed the following descending sequence: -

SECTION AT PADDY'S GAP

[Based on J.W. Elwes' paper - 'The Middle Headon Marine Bed at Hordwell', Geological Magazine, 1883, pp. 527, 528.]

Soil - 1 foot.
PLATEAU GRAVEL, ironstained at base, - thickness - 25 and a half feet [unusually great thickness]

MIDDLE HEADON

Whitish Sand - Thickness - 1 to 1 and a half feet. [probably this thickness is just for the sand rather than for both the sand and the marine bed beneath]

Marine bed: sand and comminuted shells, chiefly of small estuarine and marine species, including Cyrena obovata (J. Sow.), C. pulchra (J. de C. Sow), Meretrix incrassata (J. Sow), Ostrea velata S V. Wood, Pisania labiata (J. de C. Sow), Murex sexdentatus J. de C. Sow., Melanis acuta (J. Sow), Cancellaria elongata Nyst, Scala laevis (Morr.), Neritina aperta (J. de C. Sow.), N. concava J. de C. Sow., Potamides vagus (Sol.), P. ventricosus Sow.

LOWER HEADON

Light bluish-green clayey sand with Viviparus and Unio

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"As far as it is recorded, the fauna of the Middle Headon here is that of the Neritina Bed of the western part of the Isle of Wight: the most characteristic of the species of the Brockenhurst Beds are absent. There is evidence, in fallen material, that the Middle Headon occurs in the upper part of the cliff nearer Milford, and clay with Meretrix incrassata was noted by Mr. Clement Reid at Woodend, near the coast south of Lymington. Further east, older beds are brought up by the anticlinal flexure mentioned on p. 7; and beyond the mouth of the Lymington River nothing more is seen of the Middle Headon along the northern shore of the Solent. [i.e. Lower Headon at Lepe?]

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