A brief history of dry stone walling in Scotland
To build in dry stone, three things are needed – a supply of accessible stone, a workforce to build with it and a settled place in which to build. Field clearance or beach stone was used until the practice of quarrying developed. Cut stone buildings require the best stone and a method of shaping it. Dry stone work is more easily, cheaply and quickly built in comparison.
World-wide, most places with reasonably available stone have built dry stone constructions. The earliest Scottish examples are the Maes Howe monument, the large settlement at Ness of Brodgar and the village of Skara Brae in Orkney (c 3,000 BC) - the latter the most complete surviving Neolithic village in Europe, preserved for millennia in sand until uncovered by a storm in 1850.
World-wide, most places with reasonably available stone have built dry stone constructions. The earliest Scottish examples are the Maes Howe monument, the large settlement at Ness of Brodgar and the village of Skara Brae in Orkney (c 3,000 BC) - the latter the most complete surviving Neolithic village in Europe, preserved for millennia in sand until uncovered by a storm in 1850.
Skara Brae, Orkney
It’s not known whether there were teams of itinerant, specialist builders involved here, or simply skilled local populations. What impresses a modern waller/dyker is to see the engineering skills revealed, familiar techniques used, the quality of build, and the organisation of large and important projects. Scarcement foundations, corbelled roofs, covered joints, building in level courses, well-supported lintels can be seen in a wide range of prehistoric builds, and have survived in the far north partly due to relatively low population density and the presence of vast amounts of usable stone.
With the rest of the UK we share hill forts, burial cairns and many field boundary walls. Some prehistoric constructions are commoner in Scotland. Souterrains, underground roofed passages probably used for storage, are found in Ireland, Cornwall and Scotland, some built with stone slabs rather than constructed stone. There are several, dating from around 100-300 AD, in Perthshire and Angus.
With the rest of the UK we share hill forts, burial cairns and many field boundary walls. Some prehistoric constructions are commoner in Scotland. Souterrains, underground roofed passages probably used for storage, are found in Ireland, Cornwall and Scotland, some built with stone slabs rather than constructed stone. There are several, dating from around 100-300 AD, in Perthshire and Angus.
A Souterrain at Tealing Earth House in Angus
A type of monument unique to Scotland is the broch: a double-skinned tower with rooms built into the walls, primarily used for defensive purposes or possibly status symbols - the 'stately homes' of their time. They date from around 2000 years ago, and show advanced dry stone construction skills. It’s said that at one time Scottish tenant farmers were charged a higher rent if there was a broch on their land as this was as valuable as having one’s own quarry, but fortunately now these structures are protected by law.
Mousa Broch, Shetland
Organised enclosure of Scottish fields began in the early eighteenth century, and most dry stone walls in Scotland date from then onwards. Dry stone field walls are hard to date precisely: as long as they have been properly maintained then walls a century old will be very much the same as those three times that age. The twentieth century brought to Scotland tarmac roads, readily available post-and-wire fencing and many fewer agricultural workers on our farms; and two world wars, increased social mobility and progressively mechanised agriculture hastened the loss of labour. The second half of the century revealed many miles of neglected walls, very few of them stock-proof.
The DSWA was formed in 1968 to retrieve the heritage and revive the skills of building in dry stone. Now over 1000 members world-wide enjoy walling, either for a hobby or for a living. We still repair field walls, but the greatest growth has been in awareness of the skills in building and the heritage significance of stone. Conservationists value dry walls. Landscape artists have re-discovered the beauty of stone. Publicly and privately, it has become a symbol of prestige and continuity.
Further reading:
Dry Stone Walls, The National Collection
A useful book with good photographs of walls built by members from all the DSWA branches in the UK, showing their traditional styles and local stone
DSWA, 2002, £5.50 + p & p
Scotland, an Archaeological Guide
A sound general guide by region, with OS grid references, good on access. Black & white illustrations and photographs; dry stone work features as a briefly mentioned aspect of significant monuments.
Euan W. MacKie, Faber and Faber Limited, 1975 available from AbeBooks and on Amazon
Irish Stone Walls
The author is a qualified stonemason and enthusiastic expert on dry stone and mortared walls.
Patrick McAfee, The O’Brien Press Ltd, 2011, available on Amazon
The DSWA was formed in 1968 to retrieve the heritage and revive the skills of building in dry stone. Now over 1000 members world-wide enjoy walling, either for a hobby or for a living. We still repair field walls, but the greatest growth has been in awareness of the skills in building and the heritage significance of stone. Conservationists value dry walls. Landscape artists have re-discovered the beauty of stone. Publicly and privately, it has become a symbol of prestige and continuity.
Further reading:
Dry Stone Walls, The National Collection
A useful book with good photographs of walls built by members from all the DSWA branches in the UK, showing their traditional styles and local stone
DSWA, 2002, £5.50 + p & p
Scotland, an Archaeological Guide
A sound general guide by region, with OS grid references, good on access. Black & white illustrations and photographs; dry stone work features as a briefly mentioned aspect of significant monuments.
Euan W. MacKie, Faber and Faber Limited, 1975 available from AbeBooks and on Amazon
Irish Stone Walls
The author is a qualified stonemason and enthusiastic expert on dry stone and mortared walls.
Patrick McAfee, The O’Brien Press Ltd, 2011, available on Amazon
