Dry Stone Walling

When we took over the land from the previous owner, the walls were in a poor state of repair – we patched up some areas quickly and used stock fencing to plug gaps – mainly to keep dogs from roaming over neighbouring fields. However, the art of dry stone walling is not something to rush and we have Tim to thank for taking the lead… below are his comments.

Dry stone walls are a beautiful feature of the local landscape. They do, however, need quite a lot of maintenance.
Repairing the walls that have been damaged by livestock or rainwater is quite a task. Tim, Paul and Ernest began work on the section of wall near the stream earlier this year when they cleared silt from under the bridge sleepers.
Before the wall can be repaired, quite often large sections need to be taken right down and a foundation prepared. Stones were sorted according to size in order to facilitate the building process. Larger ‘through stones’ were placed in the wall to provide stability and, as the wall gained height, it was built narrower and infill of smaller stones provided structural integrity. Finally, shaped ‘top stones’ were aligned along the top.
The challenge is to select stones carefully so that they fit together – a bit like a three dimensional jigsaw. It is strenuous work but rewarding as the structure starts to take shape.