Hedge Laying: An Ancient Art
As winter approaches a group of men and women will be sharpening their billhooks and saws in readiness for the new season of hedge-laying, the ancient art of building an existing hedge in such a way that it becomes impenetrable by the farmer’s stock. The added bonus is that the finished hedge makes a big contribution to the beauty of Britain’s countryside and to nesting birds in the spring.
While the craft, or perhaps the art, of hedge-laying in Britain is almost as old as the hills, during the Second World War hedge-laying declined to a point where it nearly became extinct. As farmers fought to extract the maximum food production from their fields they uprooted hedges to maximize the size of the area available, and this, coupled with the arrival of wire fences and machines that could cut any hedges that were left, resulted in hedge-laying becoming a forgotten skill for all but a handful of people.
All was not lost, though, because in the early 1970s three hedge-layers realised that hedgerow management would soon be lost for ever unless action was taken. Clive Matthew, Valerie Greaves and Fred Whitefoot came up with the idea of the National Hedgelaying Society. The Society recorded the skills and techniques so that these could be passed to others to ensure that the decline of the craft was halted. Soon competitions were organised all over the country and today there is even an annual national competition.
Many people driving past a hedge that has been carefully laid will not know that almost certainly the hedge has been laid in a specific regional style of which more than 30 are recorded in Britain. Among the most popular styles here are Midland Bullock, Welsh Border, South of England, Lancashire & Westmorland, Devon, Yorkshire and North Somerset which can all be seen in their respective areas.
No matter what style is used, the aim is to create a hedge that becomes bushy and strong-growing; a hedge that will defeat even the most determined sheep or cattle, yet in the springtime provide a safe haven for nesting birds and other small animals in and around the roots and give shelter to livestock all year round.
Since the middle of the 1990s more than 100,000 miles of hedgerow in Britain have become managed and in the last 12 years about 13,000 miles of hedges have been restored — in most cases either by skilled volunteers or contractors.
Among those offering guidance to would-be hedge-layers today is the National Trust who, with help from highly skilled hedge-layers, train hundreds of volunteers across Britain who are taught the art, skills and secrets of tens of thousands of hedge-layers before them. The hedge-layers in the photographs on this page are at Netley Park in Surrey.