Product Description

`The practitioner of this ancient art can be assured that, as he or she places each stone into a dry stone wall, the act entwines a piece of history into a natural landscape'. Extract from A Guide to Dry Stone Walling.

The most striking feature of the British uplands is the endless file of dry stone walls enclosing fields and meadows. Some have stood for thousands of years, buffeted and scared by an endless barrage of rain, wind and snow. Yet, constructed without the use of mortar, these monuments of ancient craftsmanship still anchor themselves to a mountainside as if held by some unseen force of nature. An accolade to those historical workers who braved the elements to haul stone and tool up the steepest of slopes, working in hostile conditions.

In this book, written by an experienced craftsman, the author looks into the history of dry stone walling before demonstrating how to build a wall with step-by-step explanations accompanied by photographs and diagrams.

Topics include: how to acquire suitable stone; tools of the trade; basic walling technique; building or repairing a curved wall; walling on slopes and gapping, retaining walls and variations.

`This guide successfully whets the appetite, whether you will go on to savour the delights of actual construction or just dream from the comfort of your armchair, it is well worth the read'……Rural Wales Magazine.

`An enthralling read. Anyone with even the remotest interest in countryside skills will be sure to find inspiration in this book'……Pete Hardwick, Countryside Volunteers Organiser, Peak District National Park Authority.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #168667 in Books
• Published on: 2001-07-27
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 128 pages

Synopsis
Dry stone walling is one of the oldest of countryside crafts, and these attractive structures form one of the most striking features of the rural landscape, whether on upland pasture, fell or moorland. The author looks into the history of dry stone walling before demonstrating how to build a wall with step-by-step explanations accompanied by photographs and diagrams. Topics include: how to acquire suitable stone; tools of the trade; basic walling technique; building or repairing a curved wall; walling on slopes and gapping, retaining walls and variations.

About the Author
Andy radford first became interestd in dry stone walling when he visited the peak District as a child. In pursuit of his interest, he joined the Peak District National Park Authority and trained in a number of rural crafts. He has now been building dry stone walls for over sixteen years. and has acted as consultant, designer and contractor for a variety of clients, including schools and local government organisations. He runs an organic landscaping business in North Wales.

He has also written articles on the environment for a number of periodicals, including the Guardian newspaper - and this is his first book.

Customer Reviews

A good Starter Guide
Very good book with basic techniques. The drawings could have been a bit better, but the content is sound. I have been working in conservation for 18 years and see this book as an excellent starter guide.

This is a good book!!
The last reviewer gave this book a fairly drab showing, but it does not in any way deserve this. I am a master craftsman stone mason and I have also been dry stone walling for over 32 years in Scotland and Wales. OK, the cover photo is a bit dreary, but you should not judge a book by its cover. I have read this book from front to back and have found it an ideal guide for my budding dry stone wallers. It is a beginners guide, when all said and done. The techniques are very sound in my opinion and would advise anyone who is thinking about starting this type of work to buy it.

this book is a waste of paper
DRY STONE WALLING


Andy Radford

The Crowood Press
128 Pages
Black and white photos and line diagrams.
2001, First Edition.

Andy Radford, is a journalist and sometime photographer, now author of a number of books relating to practical work in the countryside. Based in North Wales at the time of writing this, his first book he also ran a landscape business.
This practical guide to walling starts with a bit of background on walling history and the terminology associated with walling, tools etc., including an excessive description on the construction oif a batter frame. It then deals with various aspects of walling through "projects" the author has worked on. The longest section is "Basic Walling Technique", but we are also taken through walling on slopes, curves, retaining walls a inter alia. The text generally says the right things although you get the feeling that you've heard it all before. Occasionally it is a little naive or misleading for the uninitiated `most stone will easily dress`, sometimes plain daft suggesting that you will save stone by building a corner rather than a curve somehow defying the laws of physics.

Then there's the photos... It takes a brave man (or a fool) to admit to having had anything to do with the cover let alone attaching the idea that it is `practical and attractive`. Another one where the waller is shown `tying the wall into the existing structure` (having noted that elsewhere the wall should be dismantled to a sound structure or some such) had me a little flabbergasted. Then there's `levelling the wall ready for the through-band` pride of place centre shot is a face stone not only "traced" but stood on edge, I've just about recovered from the hysterics. These photos and others definitely give the impression that the writer doesn't really know what he's talking about.

Presumably aimed at those with a bit of wall to do in their garden it is likely to be of limited use, for others even more so. The only apparently original text relates to walling on slopes. I found this particularly confusing so you'll pardon me for questioning how well others would understand it. It also has some ideas with the uses of batter frames on slopes which for a variety of technical reasons would either not work or would be pointless. Perhaps interestingly this section is not based on a project. It smacks of being an academic idea never really executed in practice. But then judging from the photos it might be that the author has tried it and just not appreciated that it doesn't actually work.

There is a short section on "variations on the craft" which bears striking resemblance to the content of a number of DSWA leaflets, and other publications. You cannot copyright dry stone walling per se, it would be possible to sit down and write a book from scratch and not say anything that had not been previously printed. However what disturbs me most about this book in this respect is that it hasn't even got a bibliography and does not even pay lip service to other's endeavours. Does the author really expect us to believe that he's never read another walling book or done any research. Mind you if it wasn't for the striking similarity of diagrams and some text/format, perhaps I would actually believe him.

You might have heard of the metaphor of dwarves standing on the shoulders of giants used by Newton amongst others, to refer to having great insights as a result of the work of others, not necessarily a bad thing if you are breaking new ground. However I feel here Nietzsche`s interpretation is more apposite he argues "that a dwarf (the academic scholar) brings even the most sublime heights down to his level of understanding" (wikipedia).

Perhaps alarmingly as I wrote this review I discovered the author had just written a book on "Building Natural Stone Garden Features". Unfortunately as I aim to own a copy of every work published on the craft I will have to get a copy, I shall just wait for it to be remaindered. Unless you want a really good laugh and have plenty of spare cash take a very experienced DSWA advanced dry stone wallers advice, found on line: "On no account get Andy Radford`s book .... the worst book on walling ever. Just don`t encourage him, OK!"