LAWSHALL’S ANCIENT HEDGES

With the concern of many villagers at the recent spate of hedges in the Parish being cut down, we thought that people might like to know that we have an excellent map of our ancient hedges, as surveyed by Adrian Walters and the late Grenville Clarke in 2015. The map is reproduced below, and a framed full-size copy is now displayed in the Village Hall. To determine the age of an ancient hedge, Adrian and Grenville applied the commonly used Hooper’s Rule. This states that every species in a 30 meter length of hedge represents one hundred years. For example, thirty meters of hedge with four species in it, such as hawthorn, blackthorn, hazel and spindle is estimated to be about 400 years old. Knowing where these hedges are is the first step to protecting them in the future!

Lawshall Green County Wildlife Site - check out the history of the site.