Great to be invited to collaborate with the National Trust to work on providing a some natural fencing in the vegetable gardens on this beautiful estate. Both requirements were to provide something not too intrusive but would fit in with the surroundings. So for the vegetable beds it was cleft chestnut fencing only 18” high, a suitable height to keep people away but convenient enough for the gardeners to be able to step over when needed to access the vegetable beds. Sweet Chestnut is a naturally durable timber and splits/cleaves easily. So it was several long weeks prepping the timber using traditional tools-a Froe and cleaving break to split the timber into shingles, very similar to the beautiful wooden shingles you get on roofs sometimes.

And to protect the public from a rather steep slope at the entrance to one of Calke’s amazing tunnels (where the boilers were stoked to heat the greenhouses) I wove a continuous hazel hurdle on site. So popped the uprights in the ground along the line laid out and began to weave. A few days to finish the weave and the final bit was to install some more Sweet Chestnut posts to wire the fence to to ensure its longevity and strength. Whilst the Chestnut fencing doesn’t need treating it’s always advisable to treat both Hazel and Willow hurdles with linseed oil and turps every year. This ensures the maximum lifespan for the hurdle.