Dry stone walls: fragments of history

I have chosen dry stone walls in response to Brian Bushboy’s Lens-Artists Challenge #253: Fragments. Which is rather odd of me.

Dry stone walls are far from fragmentary. These walls march across the moorland and pasture landscapes of much of northern- and parts of the rest of – England, dividing farm from farm, and fields from their neighbours. Labour-intensive to construct, they can last for centuries: carefully assembled courses of locally-found stone with not a splash of mortar to be seen. The ancient craft is still alive and well, and the modern apprentice can hone his or her skills through Levels 1, 2 & 3.

Still, the stones used in their construction are fragments of an ancient landscape of local rock: of millstone grit, of limestone, flint, granite: whatever is locally available. Some elderly walls are fragments of older, longer ones, and some are indeed somewhat broken.

Really, I just wanted an excuse to celebrate this much loved feature of our landscape, telling a story of centuries of farming in harsh conditions where man has worked tirelessly to make a living.

Unknown's avatar

Author: margaret21

I'm retired and live in North Yorkshire, where I walk , write, volunteer and travel as often as I can.

51 thoughts on “Dry stone walls: fragments of history”

    1. Well, we have wonderful walls stretching across stunning landscapes, interesting stones, mosses and lichens lending interesting colours and textures…….fantastic!

      Liked by 3 people

      1. We loved it, and we were so lucky with the weather. We also managed to sit in the front carriage where the refreshments lady surprised us by giving us a little chat about what we could see. A delight!

        Liked by 1 person

  5. Dear Margaret
    we especially like your last picture 👍
    We are fascinated by these dry stone walls. They are like veins of the landscape.
    All the best
    The Fab Four of Cley
    🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

  9. Such beautiful landscape and photos. I especially like the photo with the lone tree coming from behind the wall. Nice composition.

    Liked by 1 person

  11. I love dry stone walls, so I’m glad you used this topic to share some great examples of them. And I hadn’t realised you could do ‘proper’ apprenticeships in this ancient craft, that’s wonderful to hear. I hope plenty are taking them up?

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Enough, I think. You occasionally meet a group of young apprentices doing their thing out in the Dales, and for the right young person, there is no better job. It’s also done on a voluntary basis in organisations like Open Country.

      Liked by 1 person

  16. I’m glad you had an excuse to celebrate these wonderful structures. Somewhere (pre-digital) I have a similar photo to your one with the lone tree, only mine has sheep resting beneath it. Memories of the great landscape just outside of Sheffield.

    Liked by 1 person

  18. What a beautiful subject for the challenge Margaret – all of your images are wonderful and perfectly composed. But my favorite is the closing image which truly shows the extent of humankind’s ability to use what mother earth gives us for our own purposes. fantastic!!

    Like

  19. Love all your dry stone walls, Margaret. We have quite a lot in Sweden too, but covering your vast landscapes they are even more wonderful. The joy of walking and climbing them as a child stays with me forever. Sun warm sitting with a sandwich and a glass of home made juice…

    Liked by 1 person

  20. I read this when you posted and didn’t comment. Love the stone walls and they make me think. of how much work and effort went in to building them in a time when animals, strong backs, the and patience were the way things were built.

    Like

Comments are closed.