The Art of Hedge-Laying: A Disappearing Wealden Craft
Hedge-laying has shaped the High Weald for centuries. We meet the craftspeople keeping this ancient skill alive.
The High Weald's character is defined by its hedgerows — thick, species-rich boundaries that date back centuries. But maintaining them requires a skill that fewer and fewer people possess: hedge-laying.
"You're not cutting the hedge down," explains Will Parry, a third-generation hedge-layer from Wadhurst. "You're partially severing the stems — we call them pleachers — and bending them over at an angle. They re-grow from the base and create a stock-proof barrier that's also a wildlife highway."
The South of England style, used across the Weald, produces a neat, tight hedge using hazel stakes and binders. A skilled layer can do about 10 metres a day. Will runs courses for newcomers every winter.