Dry Stone Walling

May 2003

I met Alan from work after a hard days graft and he took me to see a recent dry stone wall he had done. Alan came across as the sort of person that was not unlike the walls he built...solid, reliable, and straight as a die. Admittedly at first it looks like you just slap one rock on top of another...but it soon became obvious that in the hands of a skilled individual, it looks easy, however, there is a lot more to throwing up a wall... Alan takes me through some of his 50 years experience, with a short lesson in dry stone walling...

How Dry Stone Walls are Built

Dry stone walls are called 'dry' because no cement is used in them. Stones used are made of either Sandstone , Gritstone or Limestone.
First, pegs are lined up in the ground so that the wall will be straight. Then the stonewaller digs away the top soil. This can vary from two to nine inches in depth. A template, or 'A' frame (two pieces of wood and some cross pieces to hold it together, in the shape of an A) is made enabling the waller to keep the shape of his wall true. Depending on the size of the wall you want, the wall should be ....for a 5' 6" to 6 foot high wall, you should start with 29 inches across the bottom, and then work it back up to 13 inches at the tops.

The 'A' Frame

Base or foundation stones are laid. These are large stones which will carry the weight of the wall. Courses of the wall are then built up. Stones are laid with the long side going into the wall. The gap in the middle of the wall is filled with small stones called 'fillings' or 'middles'. Approximately one third of the way up the wall 'throughs' are placed across the wall. These stones run through the wall. The side on which they protrude is the owner's side. Throughs strengthen the wall. The next to the top course is called a Coverhand. This strengthens the wall and keeps the weather out. They are large stones running across the wall. They protrude slightly and prevent sheep from climbing over the wall. The top course of stone are called capstones, capes or topstones. They give added protection to the wall, but are not always used.
They are usually ' Yorkshire Tops' or 'Bucks and Does'.

A stone wall tapers inwards from the base. This taper is called 'The Batter'. A good waller can build about six or seven running yards of wall a day. This means he moves about six or more tonnes of stone a day. Holes near the top of a wall are called ' Smoots'. They allow a person to observe game without being seen. Small holes near the base of a wall to allow rabbits through are called 'Bolt Holes'.
A gap is left in a wall to allow sheep through is called a Cripple Hole. Stiles vary from area to area. Step-through stiles allow people through a wall but not livestock. Clay pipes, pottery and the like, may be found in a stone wall. Some stone-wallers mark the wall or leave their name in a bottle inside the wall.

On the left is a rabbit bolt hole; and on the right a sheep or cripple hole

Advantages of Stone Walls

1. Because of the way they are built, dry stone walls are very strong. Many stone walls are two hundred years old, some older. Most stone walls were built between 1750 and 1850.

2. They not only prevent stock from getting in or out of a field but also provide shelter.

3. Dry stone walls do not require the maintenance of a hedge or fence, and take no nutrients from the soil.

4. Stone walls provide shelter for wild life; mice, lizards, weasels, stoats, and rabbits use them. Many insects thrive in stone walls also. Lichen and mosses grow on them.

Conservation

1. Stone walls are part of our heritage. They are strong but when they are damaged they deteriorate quickly.

2. Do not climb over stone walls use the stiles provided.

3. If the topstones are removed from a stone wall, water and frost will destroy it. Leave them be.

.........

So now you know all about it, I expect everyone to be out there repairing and building the nearest DSW. As for me...I'm off for a few days R&R to rebuild that Hadrian monstrosity up in the far North.

Alan Dolphin Dry Stone Walling & Civil Engineering
36 Brougham St Skipton N Yorks BD23 2HB
Tel: 01756 795504 Mobile: 07812 609581
Dry Stone Walling

With grateful thanks to Alan Dolphin
Page and Pictures by CragFace

Alan at work

A four stepped stile

"All this stone here at the college outdoor site is quarried in Huddersfield. This is sandstone and all flat bedded, (all the tops have been made by hand) and it's all new quarried stone...and the wall you can see has been built by students who are on a ten week course here"

A typical hammer used for dry stone walling

For a High Resolution Image click on any thumbnail

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Links

The Ruskin Museum

A Craftsman at Work

DSWA

Unusual Examples

National Stone Centre

Glossary

Do it yourself

...and more

...and a Retaining Wall

More Links