Hedge laying is a country skill

Rural crafts

Rural crafts refers to the traditional crafts production that is carried on, simply for everyday practical use, in the agricultural countryside. Once widespread and commonplace, the survival of some rural crafts is now in doubt....

, typically found in the United Kingdom

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 and Ireland

Ireland

Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...

, which, through the creation and maintenance of hedges, achieves the following:

• the formation of livestock
  Livestock
  Livestock refers to one or more domesticated animals raised in an agricultural setting to produce commodities such as food, fiber and labor. The term "livestock" as used in this article does not include poultry or farmed fish; however the inclusion of these, especially poultry, within the meaning...
  
  -proof barriers;
• the rejuvenation of existing hedgerows by encouraging them to put on new growth and helping to improve their overall structure and strength;
• the affording of greater weather protection to crops and wildlife
  Wildlife corridor
  A wildlife corridor or green corridor is an area of habitat connecting wildlife populations separated by human activities . This allows an exchange of individuals between populations, which may help prevent the negative effects of inbreeding and reduced genetic diversity that often occur within...
  
  ;
• and the provision of aesthetically pleasing screens to fields and gardens.

Theory

As with many things, the theory behind laying a hedge is easy. The practice is much harder - requiring skill and experience. The aim is to reduce the thickness of the upright stems of the hedgerow trees by cutting away the wood on one side of the stem and in line with the course of the hedge. This being done, each remaining stem is then laid down towards the horizontal, along the length of the hedge.

A stem which has been (or is to be) laid down in this manner is known as a "pleacher". A section of bark

Bark

Bark is the outermost layers of stems and roots of woody plants. Plants with bark include trees, woody vines and shrubs. Bark refers to all the tissues outside of the vascular cambium and is a nontechnical term. It overlays the wood and consists of the inner bark and the outer bark. The inner...

 and some sapwood

Sapwood

Sapwood may refer to:* Sapwood, the part of living wood where sap flows, as distinct from the heartwood, where it doesn't* SS-6 Sapwood, the NATO reporting name for the R-7 Semyorka intercontinental ballistic missile...

 must be left connecting a pleacher to its roots in order to keep the pleacher alive - knowing how much is one part of the art of hedgelaying. It is also essential that pleachers are not laid down completely horizontal as some upward slant is required to ensure the sap will still rise properly through the plant - judging and achieving the required degree of upward slant is again a matter of skill.

Smaller shoots branching off the pleachers and upright stems too small to be used as pleachers are known as "brash" or "brush" and in most styles of laying the brash will be partly removed and partly woven between the pleachers to add cohesiveness to the finished hedge.

At regular intervals upright stakes are placed along the line of the hedge. These stakes give the finished hedge its final strength. The uprights are often bound together by such things as hazel whips woven around the tops of the stakes. The woven whips are known as "binders" or "heatherings" and can also be of birch, ash, willow etc. In fact, these can be of any green wood which will hold the stakes and tops of the pleachers down securely.

Snedding

Snedding

Snedding

Snedding is the process of stripping the side shoots and buds from the length of a branch or shoot, usually of a tree or woody shrub. Most commonly this process is performed during hedge laying....

 is the process of stripping the side shoots and buds from the length of a branch or shoot, usually of a tree or woody shrub, for example as part of the process of hedge laying. The verb, "to sned" is used by forest workers to refer to the process of removing branches from felled trees. Whether using a bladed handtool or a chainsaw the relative difficulty of snedding is a key measure of the difficulty of the job as a whole. The word comes from the Scandinavian snäddare, meaning a smooth log.

Traditional regional styles

Over the centuries, different parts of the UK developed their own distinctive styles of hedge laying, all based on the same basic theory:

Midland style

Also known as Bullock style. This hedge was designed to keep big heavy bullocks

Cattle

Cattle are the most common type of large domesticated ungulates. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae, are the most widespread species of the genus Bos, and are most commonly classified collectively as Bos primigenius...

 in their field. This style is mainly found in Leicestershire

Leicestershire

Leicestershire is a landlocked county in the English Midlands. It takes its name from the heavily populated City of Leicester, traditionally its administrative centre, although the City of Leicester unitary authority is today administered separately from the rest of Leicestershire...

, Northamptonshire

Northamptonshire

Northamptonshire is a landlocked county in the English East Midlands, with a population of 629,676 as at the 2001 census. It has boundaries with the ceremonial counties of Warwickshire to the west, Leicestershire and Rutland to the north, Cambridgeshire to the east, Bedfordshire to the south-east,...

, Oxfordshire

Oxfordshire

Oxfordshire is a county in the South East region of England, bordering on Warwickshire and Northamptonshire , Buckinghamshire , Berkshire , Wiltshire and Gloucestershire ....

 and Warwickshire

Warwickshire

Warwickshire is a landlocked non-metropolitan county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, although the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare...

 - traditional beef rearing areas.

Typical features:

• Stake sides face road or plough land.
• Brush is on the animal side to stop them from eating new growth
• Hedge slopes towards the animals, as stakes are driven in behind the line of the roots.
• Strong binding is below the top of the hedge (so that bullocks cannot twist it off with their horns)

Derbyshire style

As the name suggests this style is from the county of Derbyshire

Derbyshire

Derbyshire is a county in the East Midlands of England. A substantial portion of the Peak District National Park lies within Derbyshire. The northern part of Derbyshire overlaps with the Pennines, a famous chain of hills and mountains. The county contains within its boundary of approx...

 which is a mixed farming and sheep area.

Typical features:

• Square, sawn stakes behind the line of roots.
• Pleachers woven firmly.
• No binding, relies on weaving to keep pleachers in place.
• Brush left the far side.

Double staked styles

Used in Somerset

Somerset

The ceremonial and non-metropolitan county of Somerset in South West England borders Bristol and Gloucestershire to the north, Wiltshire to the east, Dorset to the south-east, and Devon to the south-west. It is partly bounded to the north and west by the Bristol Channel and the estuary of the...

 and Lancashire

Lancashire

Lancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England. It takes its name from the city of Lancaster, and is sometimes known as the County of Lancaster. Although Lancaster is still considered to be the county town, Lancashire County Council is based in Preston...

. Both of the following two styles are good sheep hedges; they use stakes, but as a rule neither uses any type of bindings:

Lancashire style

Typical features:

• Uses a double row of stakes, placed alternately
• The most part of each pleacher lies between the two rows of stakes.
• The twiggy bits are pulled to the outside through the stakes, helping to keep everything in place.
• Height varies, from 3' upwards.

Westmorland style

Typical features of the Westmorland

Westmorland

Westmorland is an area of North West England and one of the 39 historic counties of England. It formed an administrative county from 1889 to 1974, after which the entirety of the county was absorbed into the new county of Cumbria.-Early history:...

 style are:

• Single row of stakes down the centre of the hedge which, when the hedge is finished, can no longer be seen.
• Stems go between the stakes so that alternate ones go to opposite sides of the hedge.
• To finish, twigs at each side and on top are twisted together to produce a square shaped hedge.

Brecon style

A double brush style; this means that the twiggy ends of the pleachers are kept both sides of the hedge. Brecon style is practised in Breconshire, Radnorshire

Radnorshire

Radnorshire is one of thirteen historic and former administrative counties of Wales. It is represented by the Radnorshire area of Powys, which according to the 2001 census, had a population of 24,805...

, Herefordshire

Herefordshire

Herefordshire is a historic and ceremonial county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes it is a NUTS 3 region and is one of three counties that comprise the "Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Gloucestershire" NUTS 2 region. It also forms a unitary district known as the...

 & Monmouthshire

Monmouthshire (historic)

Monmouthshire , also known as the County of Monmouth , is one of thirteen ancient counties of Wales and a former administrative county....

.

Typical features:

• Stakes are in the centre of the hedge.
• A lot of stems are cut off and replaced by deadwood - this keeps animals noses away from the new growth coming from the stumps.
• Pleachers are double brushed and woven round every stake. This bowing covers the stumps, further protecting the new growth. It also hides the stakes.
• The hedge is fairly tall, bound and trimmed square.

Montgomery style

Typical features:

• A wide hedge.
• Half crops are sometimes used on the outside.
• Pleachers are closely woven and the tops are entwined.
• Trimmed square.
• No binding.

The Stake & Pleach style is used in Monmouthshire

Monmouthshire (historic)

Monmouthshire , also known as the County of Monmouth , is one of thirteen ancient counties of Wales and a former administrative county....

, Brecknockshire

Brecknockshire

Brecknockshire , also known as the County of Brecknock, Breconshire, or the County of Brecon is one of thirteen historic counties of Wales, and a former administrative county.-Geography:...

, Radnorshire

Radnorshire

Radnorshire is one of thirteen historic and former administrative counties of Wales. It is represented by the Radnorshire area of Powys, which according to the 2001 census, had a population of 24,805...

, Carmarthenshire

Carmarthenshire

Carmarthenshire is a unitary authority in the south west of Wales and one of thirteen historic counties. It is the 3rd largest in Wales. Its three largest towns are Llanelli, Carmarthen and Ammanford...

 and Montgomeryshire

Montgomeryshire

Montgomeryshire, also known as Maldwyn is one of thirteen historic counties and a former administrative county of Wales. Montgomeryshire is still used as a vice-county for wildlife recording...

. The Flying Hedge style (a low hedge on a bank) is used in Pembrokeshire

Pembrokeshire

Pembrokeshire is a county in the south west of Wales. It borders Carmarthenshire to the east and Ceredigion to the north east. The county town is Haverfordwest where Pembrokeshire County Council is headquartered....

, the Gower

Gower Peninsula

Gower or the Gower Peninsula is a peninsula in south Wales, jutting from the coast into the Bristol Channel, and administratively part of the City and County of Swansea. Locally it is known as "Gower"...

, Glamorganshire, Monmouthshire and Carmarthenshire.

South of England style

Also known as the Sussex

Sussex

Sussex , from the Old English Sūþsēaxe , is an historic county in South East England corresponding roughly in area to the ancient Kingdom of Sussex. It is bounded on the north by Surrey, east by Kent, south by the English Channel, and west by Hampshire, and is divided for local government into West...

 Bullock Fence and has a double brush style, but the cut base of the pleachers can be seen. Sometimes a pleacher is laid almost flat at the base before the next few are laid at a normal angle, this is presumably to help keep the sheep at bay.

Typical features:

• Stakes are in the centre of the hedge.
• Bindings are used.
• The hedge is trimmed immediately after laying.

Isle of Wight style

Now almost extinct, the Isle of Wight

Isle of Wight

The Isle of Wight is a county and the largest island of England, located in the English Channel, on average about 2–4 miles off the south coast of the county of Hampshire, separated from the mainland by a strait called the Solent...

 style looks untidy but is an effective stockproof barrier and is extremely quick and easy to lay successfully. Pleachers are simply laid one on top of the other, usually in alternating directions, with little of the brash removed, and then pegged down with crooked hazel stakes (similar to thatching spars). It is not suitable for domestic use or competitions, which has contributed to its decline, but is principally now used for restoring overgrown hedges.

Typical features:

• Style is informal and very wide
• No binding, stakes at irregular intervals on alternate sides of the hedge
• Crooked hazel stakes can be made from rejected wands when cutting hazel for other uses

Yorkshire style

The Yorkshire

Yorkshire

Yorkshire is a historic county of northern England and the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its great size in comparison to other English counties, functions have been increasingly undertaken over time by its subdivisions, which have also been subject to periodic reform...

 style is a sheep hedge as used on mixed arable & livestock farms. It is laid between two arable fields – and is so designed that by the time grass has replaced plough land in the rotation system, the hedge will have grown to a normal height. The base is too dense for sheep to push under it.

Typical features :-

• A very low hedge, which bushes to provide a barrier to wind. Stems lie so close it is almost impossible to see the twigs branching off.
• Sawn stakes, rail nailed on top - because stakes & binders don't grow very plentifully on windy uplands.
• Brush goes both sides.

Devon style

In Devon hedge laying is usually referred to as steeping. The pleachers are known as steepers. They are held in place by crooks (forked sticks driven into the centre of the hedgebank). The two sides of the hedge are steeped separately (as long as the hedge is big enough) leaving a gap through the centre of the hedge. When steeping is finished any eroded soil is cast up on top of the hedge to retain a good height of bank.

Typical features:-

• Steepers tight to the top of the bank.
• Steepers secured by crooks.
• Steepers along the crown (top of the face) of the bank .

Cornish style

The shrubs are laid along the top of an earth bank faced with stones. Frequently the stones are set in herringbone style. Not all Cornish hedges have shrubs on top of the bank.

West Country hedges

The style of hedge used in Devon, Cornwall and parts of Wales

Wales

Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...

 gives us the familiar deep Devon lanes. However in reality they are seldom particularly deep – but rather what they do have are high banks, which give the impression of depth.

The field is often on the same level as the road. The banks are sometimes faced with stone rather than turf. However these hedges are not walls which have stone all the way through, but are rather an earth bank faced with stone. These are known as Cornish hedge

Cornish hedge

A Cornish hedge is a style of hedge built of stone and earth found in Cornwall, south-west England. Sometimes hedging plants or trees are planted on the hedge to increase its windbreaking height. A rich flora develops over the lifespan of a Cornish hedge...

s.

In this context, the word hedge derives from an earlier one meaning bank – i.e. the division between strips in the medieval farming system. The association comes from the time when after the 18th century enclosures each man had to dig a ditch as his boundary and pile the soil spoil on his side of the ditch. He then had to plant bushes in order to keep his animals on his own land. This 'digging down and stocking up' was very hard work and as a result when creating internal boundaries, the ditch was often left out but the result was still called a hedge.

The Netherlands

In parts of Holland hedgelaying is practised, with styles distinct to that country. With all Dutch styles no stakes or bindings are used. One of every 3 or 4 standards are left tall and are laid back over the hedge. This dies off and forms a temporary way of holding the hedge in place for a year or two until it becomes re-established.

British emigrants

Since the influx of the British settling on mainland Europe, the occasional hedgelayer has taken the skill of hedge-laying with him. Although mostly similar to the practical and swiftly worked Isle of Wight style, occasional examples of a laid hedge can be seen on the continent. However regular management is rare, and very few hedgerows are managed in a way sympathetic to the hedgelayer.

External links

• National Hedge Laying Society website
• South of England Hedge Laying Society
• Hedging BTCV
  BTCV
  BTCV is a British charitable organisation that works to facilitate environmental conservation through practical tasks undertaken by volunteers...
  
  online handbook
• National Farmers Union article on hedge laying
• Hedge Laying Association of Ireland website