What’s the Point of Fences?

Here in England, in the countryside, we tend to rely on walls and hedges to divide up farms and fields, leaving fences to suburban gardens. Though fences are becoming increasingly common as the years pass. And sometimes fences are added to walls that are getting old and past it. In this shot, I think the fence may be past it too.

I’ve been looking for fences for this week’s Lens-Artists Photo Challenge. I found fences to contain animals:

I found fences that have objects suspended from them:

… deliberately in the case of the moles. Molecatchers round here have the unhappy habit of suspending their deceased victims from fences, to advertise their services. And, perhaps, to deter other moles …

… accidentally in the case of sheep’s wool…

… deliberately in the case of young lovers declaring their – perhaps – lasting attachment to each other by attaching a padlock to a fence edging a bridge or harbour railing…

Then there are fences for perching on.

Stonechat

And there are fences for making statements. Here’s a local garden fence repurposed during Covid Lockdown in 2020 to thank the NHS. The nurse behind was part of our village’s scarecrow competition which celebrated keyworkers, from NHS staff to supermarket delivery drivers.

Local farmers at election time tend to give the oxygen of publicity to our sitting MP, by advertising him on their walls and fences It wasn’t me who bent the poster over, making it nearly illegible. But I’d definitely have given a hand to the perpetrator.

And finally, though in fact it’s my header photo: a fence in winter. It’s by way of being a historical curiosity. Snow is so last decade, or even last century.

For Dawn’s Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #258

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Author: margaret21

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

78 thoughts on “What’s the Point of Fences?”

  1. Oh Margaret, this is just such a great post! I know I’ve been neglecting everybody in the bloggerworld for far too long but I just happen to have a moment NOW and your post just popped up as the latest offering…. I’m so glad to have been taken on your ‘fences’ post. I also loved taking pics of fences, everywhere, at any time, and especially the really old, or tacky, or unusual ones. You would love my collection from many countries and counties. If only I could find them….
    Thanks for these marvellous moments dear friend. btw, some of the best fences were found in Devon, Cornwall and in the North. But then also in rural France. Whereas in Switzerland, it’s difficult to find a non-clinically-erected, highly efficient and totally boring one. My best ones came from the Valais, the Jura and ‘poorer’ regions…

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  2. I can imagine Swiss fences are very ticketty-boo. French ones can be shrines to make-do-and-mend in a most creative way, and gates even more so. If only I could access my French photos more easily. Thnks somuch for reading and commenting. It’s been a while … I do hope all is well.

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  3. Mildly shocked at the sight of those poor moles, but I averted my eyes. I know they can be a pest. So can I! And I do like sitting on fences, though they have to be relatively sturdy, and with a nice view. Well done, Margaret. A good summing up. My favourite is the moorland one needing a bit of help. Lovely shot!

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  5. Oh, you’ve produced a great collection! That first one is definitely past it, and I’m not too keen on the defunct moles…I don’t think they would be a deterrent…. Some good ones of animals behind fences, the goats made me smile

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  6. The custom of hanging animal corpses on fences is repugnant. I’ve seen it done to birds but never moles and, thankfully, not for some time..

    I’d have been happy to lend the perpetrator a hand with that sign, too.

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  7. Oh dear, those moles just completely broke my heart–however could anyone do that. But I do like the one with the sheep’s wool, poor sheep though if they get stuck. We usually have a fence around, mostly to keep the dogs in.

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    1. Don’t worry, the sheep rarely get stuck. As the wool naturally starts to ‘moult’ in the summer, it kind of floats around and attached itself to nearby objects. Luckily, this awful mole custom seems to be dying out.

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      1. Glad to hear about both those. The moles were absolutely horrible and one wonders how humans who think themselves far superior to other creatures will neither look for less destructive solutions nor when a problem occurs think of the concerned animal thinking on their own terms rather than in human standards which are conveniently imposed or attributed.

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  8. Such great variety here, and I love how you’ve focused a lot on the purposes of fences. The stonechat is wonderful as is that tumbledown fence and wall combination. You make an interesting point about the English reliance more on hedges and walls. I noted a few (mainly US) bloggers including walls in their response to the challenge, describing them as ‘stone fences’ which I guess in a way they are, though I would see them in a separate ‘category’. One even included Hadrian’s Wall which I felt was stretching the definition of fence a bit too far!

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  11. Poor moles 🙁 But moles and politicians aside, you have some splendid examples in this collection. My favourite has to be the winter fence.

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  12. Loved your post this week Margaret. The winter fence really drew me in. Each of your fences illustrated beautifully your point about why they exist. I must say the dead moles were pretty gross tho! I sincerely doubt they’d keep other moles away since moles are blind. UGH!

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    1. I doubt if fences exist for the padlock brigade! But yes, they certainly have their uses. Quite agree about the moles. The most repellant advertising slogans ever. Not the living moles, obviously.

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  14. Love your English countryside fences and stonewalls. Boundaries and lines. Fences are all around us. Our new neighbor added a solid wooden fence last year and changed the entire look to the backyard, but years ago we added an invisible fence to reign in our dog. No one could see it, but our dogs know where the line is, exactly where it is. I am off to baseball game #2 of my weekend and I am hoping my team hits several balls over the fence. Stay well. Peace.

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  15. Oh, my, do they really hang dead moles on fences? I have suddenly gone off Yorkshire. Lots of great fences, but that winter scene steals the show.

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  18. I’m not even a mole and I already feel deterred!

    what a beautiful set of pictures. thanks for sharing – i’m always excited to see the daily lives of people outside the country

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  20. Yes, I loved this one but for some reason it is hard to comment when I receive the post through email. Frustrating but do have your link on my app. Think WP not good on having a favourites list!

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    1. Eeergh. That’s even more off-putting. I rather thought it was humankind who introduced the fox over your way. Now humankind has to live with the consequences, which are probably less invasive than the activities of the cane toad.

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  23. Love your post and take on, Margaret. Varied and nicely done with interesting comments too. Agree about the poor moles, and read from Tracy they had foxes hanging there? Oh my, makes me cry. Interesting with the lambs wool on the fence, here we hand lambswool around newly planted trees to avoid dear coming in to eat them off.

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    2. Foxes are introduced pest species and are decimating our native mammals and ground dwelling birds. But hanging them on a fence is barbaric. Fine to shoot if it’s in your hen house, but be decent and bury the carcass.

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      1. Exactly. Introduced species wherever they are cause havoc. We have invasive and
        plant-throttling non-native plants tearing across the countryside escaped from gardens shortly after their introduction. And you have, among other things, cane toads.

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  27. I didn’t know the padlock on a fence symbol of love was still a thing – thought that had run its course a few years ago. Weren’t there some authorities which removed them because there were so many they were affecting the structure of the bridge?

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    1. I think so. I imagine many of the love affairs had run their course too. It’s certainly a lot less popular – but they’re still to be seen in some places.

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