A DRY stone wall on the Herefordshire border is at the centre of a huge restoration project because of how important it is.
Locals in Hay-on-Wye are trying to save the historic stone wall at The Warren, a meadow on the banks of the river Wye.
Hay Community Woodland Group launched a crowdfunding to raise funds to save the wall, which is the last remaining dry stone boundary wall in the border town.
OTHER NEWS:
- 'Antagonistic' man arrested at Hereford pub while visiting son
- Revealed: how huge orchard losses are being combated in Herefordshire
- Repeat offender teenage learner driver caught on Herefordshire motorway
The 130-metre long Hay Warren Wall is being restored as part of a collaborative project between Hay Community Woodland Group and Hay Warren Trust, using traditional skills.
The Warren meadow, Hay-on-Wye, in late spring
Bordering the popular Warren riverside meadow on the outskirts of the town, the wall is thought to have been constructed in the late 17th, or early 18th, century, making it historically significant.
The group said it is also an important community and wildlife resource.
The wall is in a poor state, overgrown and collapsed in places; some of the original wall can be saved but other parts need a total rebuild.
Volunteers from Hay Community Woodland Group will take down the wall, where necessary, after removing any overgrowth of brambles, bracken and nettles.
OTHER NEWS:
- Engagement rumours for Dani Dyer and Herefordshire's Jarrod Bowen
- Academy Awards 2022: Will Smith punches Chris Rock at Oscars
- Met Office forecasts snow will fall across the UK this week
Local stonemason Dai Davies, a specialist in dry stone walls and passionate about the project, said he will use existing stone and traditional methods to repair the remaining half of the wall.
Using artisan skills, hundreds of years old, the wall will be rebuilt on re-set footings and topped with "cock and hen" capping stones.
The group said old and traditional dry stone walls are wonderful for supporting local wildlife including plants, lichens, small mammals, reptiles, nesting birds and insects.
Some of the volunteers from Hay Community Woodland Group who took down part of the wall at The Warren, Hay-on-Wye, and sorted the stone
As the wall is rebuilt, a series of wildlife smoots, a type of small tunnel, will be created at its base to allow wildlife to pass in and out of The Warren.
Phase one of the project has already rebuilt 65m of the wall through funding from the Welsh Government’s Local Places for Nature grant and generous local businesses and individuals.
OTHER NEWS:
- Movie leaves lasting legacy for Herefordshire church
- Hefty penalty for Herefordshire pub landlord for illegally screening football matches
- Lorries to be banned from Herefordshire road due to wall repair
Phase two of the project will involve rebuilding the remaining 65 metres of wall, which it is estimated will cost £15,000 in total.
Jeff Morgan, a leading member of Hay Community Woodland Group, said: “The Warren is a riverside meadow bordered by the River Wye, it’s rich in flora and fauna, and enjoyed by many thousands of people every year.
A donation will help secure this important asset for another 300+ years.”
To find out more, visit the crowdfunding page here.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here