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You’ve marvelled at the mile
upon mile of wall constructed with no cement and yet seemingly
indestructible. You’ve probably asked yourself how on earth they
manage to build them to withstand everything that nature can
throw at them. Well, you can learn how to do it and then help
restore and preserve them. It’s hard work but you’re outdoors
in the fresh air, usually in lovely countryside so what could be
better?
You’ll be in good company and
following a long line of predecessors. Building with dry stone is one
of the earliest skills developed by man, used for building
shelters, fortifications, burial mounds, ceremonial structures
and animal enclosures. The Neolithic village of Skara Brae, in
Orkney, built in about 3000 BC and buried in sand for thousands
of years until rediscovered, demonstrates the early development
of skills in dry stonework. The magnificent Iron Age fortified
buildings of Scotland, called brochs, which have stood for
thousands of years, are proof of the durability of this ancient
craft.
Dry stone walling is so durable because it
contains no mortar to crack and fail, but is held together
merely by the weight of stone, and by the skill of the builder
who selected and fitted the stones together. Dry stone
structures are constructed in such a way that as they slowly
settle with time, they become stronger and more closely bound. A
correctly built structure of durable stone contains nothing that
can deteriorate or fail.
So now you know why dry stone walls are so enduring. But how do
you go about learning the craft?
The Dry Stone Walling Association of Great Britain
www.dswa.org.uk
has branches from Scotland down to Somerset and you can
find out more about it from them. You can also find out more
from the British Trust for Conservation Volunteers. (www.bctv.org.uk)
BTCV is the largest practical conservation organisation in the
UK. It supports more than 85,000 volunteers from all sections of
the community in doing various conservation work. With more than
110 offices around the UK, BTCV is able to work in a range of
areas carrying out different activities to protect and improve
the environment. Working on dry stone walls is high amongst
their list of tasks, so if you like the sound of dry stone
walling there is plenty of scope to get involved.There is also a
commercial organisation called Tamarack, which provides weekend
and week courses in this ancient, beautiful and practical craft.
Go to
www.tamarackoutdoors.co.uk/drystoneintro.htm for details of their courses in
North Lancashire.
However, dry stonewalling is not just a skill to be used in the
rural uplands. In the last few years, dry stone wallers have
become involved in designing and building garden features,
sculptures and other structures, bringing the skill of dry stone
walling into community gardens and other urban sites. Wherever
it is built, dry stone work can be useful, aesthetically
pleasing and a valuable wildlife habitat. So if you want to
practise and develop your skills closer to home, you can do it
in your own garden!
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