Dry stone walling
Reference articles are in English.
A dry stone wall being built in South Wales. Source
Description
Dry stone walling uses selected and arranged stones without mortar. The faces, internal filling and stones tying the wall together form a connected construction. Local stone and regional methods produce varied appearances. The craft is used for boundaries, terraces, retaining structures and designed landscape features.
History
Dry stone walls have shaped agricultural landscapes for centuries. In the Cotswolds, many surviving field boundaries date from the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, while earlier examples demonstrate the much longer use of the craft.
Commissioning
The waller should see the ground, proposed dimensions and any loads or earth to be retained. The brief should cover stone supply, ends, corners and drainage, and identify any stone to be reused. Retaining work requires experience appropriate to that construction.