Old Hedge

I wonder how long ago this old hedge was laid. It's not the oldest example around this area where many were abandoned, leaving grand old trees, linked together at their bases with layers of large branches showing little semblance of their former function.

The first enclosures would have been portable stakes, planted in the ground to contain livestock. As man settled it's probable that many of the green stakes took root and grew to form the first living hedges. Soon hedges appeared to mark boundaries as well as barriers for livestock and as farming methods advanced the numbers grew. The downside was that hedges required periodic maintenance and were costly. They became a social weapon of the rich, who effectively used them to deprive the poor of their common grazing rights. Laws regarding the height and width were put in place, the first of which was decreed by Richard the First in the 12th century. Hedges could not exceed 4 foot 6 inches tall to allow free range to the royal deer and so that he could chase them on horseback!

At the end of the Second World War, it's estimated that there were 500,000 miles of hedges in the UK but, as intensive farming methods together with large farm machinery developed, the hedgerows soon started to be grubbed out or were neglected. By 1990's less than 250,00 miles remained. Since then the benefits of hedges against soil erosion, as shelter for stock and corridors for wildlife, have been refound. With the revival of hedgelaying, it's now common to find replantings and rejuvenations alongside these old relics of the past.

How old is your hedge? As a rule of thumb, each different shrub species, excluding elder, per thirty yard stretch represents 100 years. Some of the oldest hedges, like this one, are found by ancient green lanes and parish boundaries. Spindle and hazel are two of the best indicators of an old hedgerow.

The British were also responsible for the longest of all. Between 8 and 12 foot high, 4 to 14 foot thick, The Great Hedge of India, was was an impenetrable green barrier running 180 miles across India, forming part of the Inland Customs Line to prevent smuggling and enabling the collection of Salt Tax under British rule.

I had to add a little useless information! :)