Yorkshire Dry Stone Walling Guild sees huge demand from people wanting to learn ancient trade

“We have always loved visiting the Dales and we live in Burley in Wharfedale. In my opinion one of the best views of fields and walls is heading north just before Kettlewell where the Wharfe Valley basin has been carved out by the Wharfe over millennia and you see the walls going up either side of the basin. It’s just magic and thrills me every time I see it.

“While I moved on to desk-based jobs with local government and the NHS I never lost that desire to do something with my hands and my wife’s gift became my hobby and my passion.

“I got all the kit and began working with the Guild as a volunteer, subsequently taking on a position on the committee and then course organiser. I worked as a dry stone waller for a while, just part-time, when I took redundancy from NHS.

“I didn’t go out seeking work. Within the Guild there is a network of people where somebody knows somebody who knows somebody that wants work doing.

Graham says the lion’s share of dry stone wallers that either take part in a course, earn a qualification or become members, perhaps unsurprisingly, are farmers and smallholders.

“We have farmers, smallholders and people that have just picked it up as I have. We have quite a few younger people looking to supplement skills they already have as bricklayers or landscape gardeners. They come along to add dry stone walling to their repertoire, to offer something different to their clients. We recently had two people employed as landscapers for a golf club to maintain walls on their course.

“We’ve also seen a growth in the number of relatively young people who are leaving the military who want to train as dry stone wallers and attain the different levels of qualification.

“We have female members and instructors. The host for our practice meet later this month is Megan Jeffrey of Cropper Fold Farm in Eldwick where she farms with husband Jim.

“We are seeing great interest in dry stone walling from all walks of life at the moment. I had a call from a teacher only last week to ask whether we would be able to cope with an older school student, slightly disadvantaged in terms of mental capacity, but very interested in coming. We are always delighted to welcome everyone and are currently sourcing good practical training for him.

The unprecedented demand for dry stone walling courses may be connected with the new ELMS schemes, but Graham feels that it is also about working in the countryside.

“We thought that with the current cost of living crisis in heating bills and other areas that our courses might have been hit this year, but we are experiencing a high level of interest, higher than anticipated.

“I’ve seen the proposals for dry stone walling in the ELMS scheme, which is something positive and that may have something to do with the higher demand, but at the end of the day who wouldn’t want to be working outdoors in the beautiful Yorkshire Dales.

“Our courses are extremely informal and also extremely hands on and fun to do. That’s something we want to safeguard. We are all very practical in our approach to walling and to the people that come along. One of the features of the courses is the quality of the banter that goes on between the tutors.

Dry stone walling, in common with any other area of skill, expertise and craft, has its legends and Graham tells of some of those within the Yorkshire Dry Stone Walling Guild.

“We’ve some characters that are quite well known in the dry stone walling and countryside world. Cliff Bailey of Thoralby, who has recently stepped down as instructor, is among the best known. There’s Keith Ledger in County Durham who instructs for us and is running a course near Hadrian’s Wall later this year; and Coverdale farmer Steve Bostock. They are all really well thought of and passionate about promoting dry stone walling.

Graham talks of the variations in style of walls in the county, something that the untrained eye might not notice.

“There are several different styles of walls. These are mainly driven by different kinds of stone. In the far north Dales and the North York Moors you’ll see examples of limestone and different styles of wall in their cosmetic appearance. Types of wall are almost always driven driven by the availability of stone, how it has been quarried and sometimes not quarried. Wallers will use whatever is available.

This weekend sees farmer Andrew Bailey as instructor on a course at East Hauxwell. Graham says Andrew is known to many as ‘Cliff’s lad’.

“Andrew is in his 50s but he’s always gone by that name. The Guild runs nine courses per year and has a stand at six summer shows including Ripley Show and the Great Yorkshire Show. We are always active, sometimes with two or three activities per weekend throughout the county.

“The Guild has around 200 members in Yorkshire and further afield. Our courses are run with the ratio of one instructor to four trainees on a basic course allowing for close tuition. The Guild has been in the process of converting to a charity and to achieve that I had to step back a while from my instructor role.

If you would like to know more about Yorkshire Dry Stone Walling Guild please visit: http://www.ydswg.co.uk