More About Hedges

A Little History
Hedges have been an intrinsic part of the British landscape since Roman times - arguably and extraordinarily some pre Roman hedges still survive. In the ancient countryside of, for example, Devon and Kent, the majority of existing hedges are medieval. At that time, they were left to be untidy, broad hedges almost like linear thickets. They were sometimes Parish boundaries, and were a valuable part of the medieval rural economy, providing shelter, firewood, coppice timber, wild berries and small game.

The enclosures of the 18th and 19th centuries triggered a rush to plant more ordered hedges; Richard Mabey estimates 200,000 miles of quickthorn (hawthorn) hedges were planted in the 18th and 19th centuries. From 1947 to 1990, however, we lost over 35% of our hedgerows, to make fields that could be more efficiently managed by larger farm machinery. A higher percentage have fallen victim to neglect, as only relatively recently have hedges had the attention they deserve. Frequent and enthusiastic flail cutting, often combined with herbicide use, has often resulted in hedgerows looking like a sporadic single line of toothbrushes.

Hedge laying
Hedge laying as we know it today began in the 18th century. As open fields were enclosed they were marked out, first with ditches and then hedges, which left to grow unchecked would have eventually become a line of trees and of no use for retaining livestock. Barbed wire was unknown at that time and so ways were sought to make the hedges stock proof. A number of distinct regional styles of different complexity arose, which reflect local conditions and livestock. The The National Hedgelaying Society provide an excellent video and introductory book, and we host one day hedgelaying courses ourselves. Hedges for wildlife should have a strong, thick base and be maintained - where practical - by a mixture of trimming and laying.

Hooper's Rule
Max Hooper estimated that the number of tree and shrub species in a 30 yard stretch of hedge is roughly equal to the age of the hedge in centuries. This works back to around 1,100 years ago, so it does not differentiate between Roman and Anglo-Saxon hedges. There are exceptions to the rule of course - modern, planted mixed hedges, and elm hedges and elder, for example, as elder and some kinds of suckering elm suppress other species.

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