[3] The Landslip is believed to have existed for thousands of years, but its present terrain derives largely from major landslide events in 1810 and 1818.

A considerable portion of the cliff had fallen down, strewing the whole of the ground between it and the sea with its ruins; huge masses of solid rock started up amidst heaps of smaller fragments, whilst immense quantities of loose marl, mixed with stones, and even the soil above with the wheat still growing on it, filled up the spaces between, and formed hills of rubbish which are scarcely accessible.

Whatever road or path formerly existed through this place had been effaced; and with some difficulty I passed over this avalanche which extended many hundred yards.The Bonchurch Landslip was developed as a picturesque woodland walk in Victorian times, with natural features including the Devil's Chimney, the Chink, and the Wishing Seat (a.k.a.

It was initially reported that the Devil's Chimney, a scenic rock cleft, had been destroyed,[12] but subsequent footage appears to show that it remains intact, although now inaccessible to the public.

The 1847 religious story The Old Man's Home by William Adams features a description of the East End landslip in the 1840s after its vegetation was re-established.