Each day I walk the path alongside the hedgerow at least once. Usually, the walk round the woods will be counter-clockwise which means the descending last leg follows the hedgerow. We take this way around because the sweeping path up takes the steepness out of the climb and Honey, our oldest dog, finds this easier on her poor hips. She also has an easy walk down alongside the hedgerow. Much hedge and woodland work is carried out in the dormant months, so over the previous spring and summer I had ample time to observe the state of the hedgerow at close quarters and plan the winter work. To me, there seems to be three aspects of the hedgerow: the bank ithe woody plants sit on and ground layer; the trees and shrubs that make up the hedge itself and; the trees that rise above the hedge top. Each requires attention if a hedgerow is to look balanced and healthy; function well as both barrier and boundary marker and; be rich and varied in order to support as great a range of wildlife as possible. My first impressions when we came here was that the hedgerow had promise but had been left unattended for so long that work was needed to restore its balance.
The adjacent land owned by our neighbour, is generally lower than ours - the difference in height varying between 6ft at the lower end to just a few feet in the middle. Due to the patchiness of the hedgerow we have a better view of next door than we would like. The hedgerow sits on a stone and earth bank typical of the Devon style. Next door was formerly pasture but has become scrubby. Immediately below us on that side there is a ditch: an essential landscape feature channelling the water pouring down the hillside when rainfall is heavy or prolonged. It is like that quite often here especially in the winter months.
A local tithe map from 1840 shows our parcel of land looking much the same as it does now, right down to that short bulge in the otherwise straight line of the hedgerow. Our cottage is one of just three on this side of the river valley out of Bampton. Today there are just four in that half mile stretch on both sides of the road. The first property is New Park (with its field next door), then us (Mount Pleasant), Tucking Mill on the other side of the road and finally Tucking Mill Farm. After that, where the Tiverton Road forms a junction with the Dulverton Road, is the Exeter Inn. The valley slopes on our side of the road is mainly wooded but there is some pasture at New Park next door and at Tucking Mill Farm further up the road. On the other side is water meadow by the river Batherm running out of Bampton to join the river Exe near the Exeter Inn. On quiet evenings the sound of the river carries across the valley. In summer it's a chuckle. In winter it's hysterical laughter.
We don't have an earlier map of sufficient detail to look further back into time but we think prior to 1840 plots and boundaries probably didn't change much. Hedgerows were the most common type of boundary so we think the hedgerow will be considerably older than the 180 years since the tithe map was drawn. It is certainly old enough to be cared for in the same way that an old building or other human made feature of comparable stature would be. We take the responsibility for this historical feature most seriously, considering it to be most worthy of preservation, care and attention. We have no little work ahead to do this. And a good job too.
The accepted method of dating a hedgerow is to count the species of woody flora within a given length. This method was developed in the 1970's and known as Hooper's hypothesis. It has been tested out many times. Despite limitations, it remains a good rule of thumb and is simple to apply: take a thirty yard stretch of hedgerow, count the number of different woody species to give an approximate number of centuries. Of course, on it's own it probably won't be very accurate so things like old maps and other historical records need to be factored in as well.
The hedgerow has been neglected for some time. I was tempted to say, 'unfortunately', but an old hedge left to its own devices makes up with character its inability to function as intended: that is, to shelter and constrain stock and clearly delineate boundaries. There are stumps, some of which have regrown, of ash and oak. Originally maintained as hedgerow trees they were allowed to grow out into mature trees and then felled. Their wide, hollow stumps now shelter insects and small mammals. Hazel is the most common tree in the hederow but there is also ash, beech, oak, blackthorn, hawthorn and elder. Worse than neglect is damage. It looks as though trees taken down have hurt the bank and over the years weakened parts have lost stability. Deer roam freely around here and take advantage of any breech in the hedgerow which, over time, becomes an established route.
In the 1950's and 1960's traditional hedge laying went out of use, to be replaced by the practice of mechanised cutting and flaying which was faster and more efficient. It continues much the same to this day and in the autumn the sound of the tractors going about their work resound across the valley. Traditional, skilled hedge laying was in comparison slow and costly. However, the old ways ensured hedges were regenerated and grew densely from the base of the trees. The new ways were quicker but hedges became thin close to the ground and in order to stay stock proof, fencing was installed alongside. Inevitably, in many cases it became simpler to replace the hedgerow altogether. Although it has become common for hedge cutting to take place in the autumn studies now show if it is delayed until late winter/early spring the hedgerows support more birds than those cut back in the autumn.
https://www.conservationhandbooks.com/hedging/the-hedgerow-landscape/characteristic-regional-hedges/
Our aim is to regenerate and re-stock our hedgerow to extend its life and enrich our woods. For us, the task won't be carried out in one season but will be an ongoing process carried out over the next 4 or 5 years. As with many of these types of endeavour, it's likely the hedge will initially look worse before it gets better: where cut back and layered there wil be eneveness in the profile and regrowth will take a couple of years; new whips will take time to establish. It may be possible to do it quicker but we are spreading our time and energies over a number of projects each with its own priorities. The process began in the autumn of 2019, our first since we moved in. With the help of my neice, we cut and laid branches where we could to fill gaps, she with her preferred handsaw and me with my preferred billhook. Taller trees would get snagged as we attempted to cut and some severed completely but were left to lie as dead hedge as a temporary measure fill gaps. Others were successfully laid, trimmed and left attached to the main trunk by a sliver of living tree. Ideally, branches are laid upwards as this is the way the sap moves but we could not always do this. Where possible we laid as close to the ground as possible in order to have as much new growth at the foot of the hedge. Ideally we would have cleared away bramble and dead wood but we decied in the short time available that first year to do as best we could and at least get some new growth the following spring. The hazel and ash seemed to go well and lower down, the blackthorn with its 4" diameter trunk went down nicely in a 12' length. Sometimes things look worse before they get better but we wouldn't know if our labour was successful until the following spring when any new shoots would appear.
We bought a range of hedging whips and over the winter planted these in the hedgerow to add bulk, fill gaps not able to be covered by exisiting trees and increase diversity of species. We also relocated self set saplings from elsewhere in the woods. This autumn (2020) we collected our own berries and nuts. The acorns have sprouted successfully but we'll have to wait for the rowan (the seeds should sprout this spring) So we added to the exisiting elder, ash, blackthorn, hazel and oak the following and will continue to add more during each planting season:
rowan - for blossom and berries
holly - ditto and also for screening as it's evergreen
beech - for cover and appearnace as the keep their leaves longer than most
crab apple - fruit and blossom
spindle - as above
wild cherry - ditto
hornbeam - a traditional native hedging tree that also retains its leaves
field maple - another traditional hedging plant
Some of these will be allowed to grow into their natural size (rowan and crab apple for example) so they flower and fruit. Most will be cut and shaped to form a dense hedge which we hope will be a refuge and larder for birds and insects.
A healthy hedge will naturally encourage bramble and on our daily walks we weave stray shoots back into the hedge. Other plants like honesuckle and old man's beard were already there and we have added more along with wild rose from elsewhere in the woods.
In urban environments I try to remember to look up. Sight is often drawn to the shop fronts and lower facades, the doors and street names. Higher up the buildings often maintain original features before they were shops, banks and chrity outlets. In the woods, looking down will also reward.
