Cornish Stone Walls are unique to the South West of England. It had got me thinking about how you go about constructing a stone wall, so I began with a dive into the internet.

Stone walls are an iconic part of the landscape & they are not only beautiful to look at but also provide habitats for many of our native insects & small mammals. Some have been around for thousands of years marking field boundaries & containing livestock. On a smaller scale they are used in our gardens for edging flower beds or separating two different areas.

A well-built stone wall will outlast the person who built it & they can add kerb appeal as well as value to a property. From the south of Cornwall, to way up to the north of Devon the style of walls is different & is largely dependent upon the type of stone/local rock native to that area.

Our large/medium & small hedging stone goes to make dry stone walls whilst the 3-9 garden walling is best used with a mortar to help it stay in place. They may be laid horizontal or vertical, as well as in a herringbone pattern.

In many coastal areas the quays are constructed with laying the stone upright. The stones are laid in pitched courses, demonstrating that this is the strongest way of using stone as it defies the battering of sea & sand.

A dry-stone wall will have advantages as they are easier & less expensive to build because they can use up different sizes of stone. The challenge is to puzzle them together into an aesthetically pleasing & strong form.

Conversely a mortared wall gains some of its stability from the mortar binding the stones together. Sometimes it has a formal look to it & at others can be more random. The mortar can also change the look of the wall if it is more hidden or if it is at the surface.

Before you build any kind of wall, you will need to decide what kind of wall you want to build. Also, how big the wall is likely to be. Is it a single sided wall or double sided? This will help you to make a decision on the type of stone you need & the quantity you may been (always allowing for some wastage). We suggest that a ton of stone will give an average coverage of 2 m2.

• Layout where you want the wall to go & measure up so that you will have enough stone.
• It is your informed choice over the size of the hedge / wall you are creating.
• If you are planning to plant into the top of a hedge then the base will need to be wider in order to support the weight etc.
• Remember to order your stone allowing plenty of time for delivery & plan where you are going to deposit it.
• Mark out a line for the wall & then dig a trench so that you have an even & level base to start on.
• You may choose to add a layer of mortar in the trench before you lay your first stone.
• Once your stone has been delivered it is worthwhile spending a little time sorting it out into sizes or colours depending upon what you are looking to achieve in the end.
• The larger stones (grounders / foundation layer) will go at the base for stability & smaller as you go up. If you are building a double-sided wall, you may be looking at building from the outside in & fill in remaining space with smaller stuff.
• Be careful with your fill material – do not use something with a high organic content that will rot down leaving holes & make sure that you compact the fill well as you go.
• Some stones can be laid at 90° to the wall to tie the sides together. Also, it helps to centre the stone you are laying over a joint of the 2 stones below for stability.
• The pattern you create is up to you…. It can be more random or extremely uniform & neat.
• Remember that the top of the wall can have a coping stone or be split so that Jack & Jill's are created along the top of your finished wall. You may want to create a pattern with in your wall for extra interest.
• The versatility of slate means that the edges can be napped to make a piece fit in any gap. This is sometimes called trigging where the smaller stones are wedged in to support the larger ones.
• Some suggest that you may need to consider drainage for wall, but take advice on that!

The process itself they say isn’t complicated but always give yourself time & make sure you have all the correct equipment, including PPE. Take your time & I’m sure that you will be pleased with the end result. There are also courses about if you want to learn form an expert.