Earthworks Conservation Volunteers

Hedgelaying

Hedgelaying is one of our most popular winter tasks. A long working day brings a great sense of satisfaction and achievement, and we can see the renewed growth each year. It is also considered "a time-consuming, expensive and skilled method of rejuvenating overgrown hedges"(1). Perhaps this is not such a surprising view as it is expressed in a book published by the Farming Press. Hedges take up a lot of land, and at last they are becoming protected. There is much wildlife value in a hedge, but little benefit to farmers if their machinery can only handle large open areas of land. However, the hedges that remain are protected and some of the traditional skills in managing them can be observed. They can be trimmed, flailed, coppiced or laid. The latter is personally considered the most attractive, with the least disturbance to nesting birds, less noise than a flail and most fun for a conservation volunteer. Formation of new growth is encouraged by cutting the stems close to the ground and laying them over, reinforced by stakes. As the new growth grows up towards the sun, it passes through the older stems forming a strong lattice. If laid properly, a hedge can remain stock-proof for up to 15 years. It must be protected for the first few years as the shoots are very attractive to horses and goats, as we found at Chiltern Open Air Museum.
There are many different styles of hedge laying, depending on its purpose and its location. Around Middlesex and Buckinghamshire many of the hedges are thorn - both blackthorn and hawthorn, hazel is popular with oak standards allowed to reach maturity. The styles we use are Midlands, a good stockproof living-fence, and Southern style.
Because regions have different styles, so do the tools used. The most commonly used tool is a billhook and so there are Midlands, Yorkshire double-edged, Stafford double-edged and Southern Counties billhooks, for example. Other tools used should include a 21 inch bowsaw, sharpening stone, long handled slasher, loppers and a small axe. Essential is a first-aid kit and it is possible to use a chain-saw, if a skilled operative. Other tools needed depend on whether there is a fence, and how much grass etc needs removing from the bottom of the hedge(2) and a hedging mitt affords protection against thorns.

There are four stages in laying a hedge:

(a) The main stems (pleachers) are cut through part way with a billhook or axe and pushed over to make a barrier.

(b) Lengths of hazel or ash (stakes) are driven into the hedge bank between the stems of the cut pleachers at regular intervals.

(c) Lengths of pliable wood such as hazel or willow (binders or heathers are twisted round the top of the stakes to prevent the pleachers from springing upwards.

(d) The stakes are trimmed to an even finish and any projecting stems removed so as to give a tidy appearance and to avoid damage to livestock when they rub against them(3).

There are some rules such as "always lay uphill" and "if right-handed, start at the left-hand end as you face it" which may have to be ignored depending on proximity to roads, for example.

The photographs on this page illustrate Midlands style and its twisted binders. This style is laid into the field so "white wood" shows.

References

1. MacLean, Murray. New hedges for the countryside. Ipswich: Farming Press, 1992, p. 206.

2. Ibid., pp. 208-209.

3. Dowdeswell, W.H. Hedgerows and verges. London: Allen & Unwin, 1987, pp. 150-153.

The British Trust for Conservation Volunteers (BTCV) publish a practical guide called "Hedging".

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ŠJudy Cross
Last updated 6/12/1999.