Hedgerows
by Chris, 11 April, 2006, 2 comments
Do you have hedgerows on your land? Have you ever thought of trying to date them? It is sometimes possible to give an approximate age to a hedge using the ‘hedge dating’ system devised by Dr Max Hooper in the 1970's. This is explained in a number of books, such as
The Living History of Our Hedgerows: A Guide to Dating Hedgerows - Lesley Chapman, Brian Steffens (Illustrator)
Orchard Publications - paperback - April 10, 2001. Have a look on Amazon.co.uk or similar
The basic formula for dating a hedge is as follows:
First measure out a 30 metre length of hedge.
Work along the hedge systematically recording each woody species.
Repeat this process with two or three 30 metre sections of hedge.
Calculate how many woody species on average you find in your hedge.
Generally speaking, a new species is added every hundred years. Read more...
