Yorkshire Crafts: Meet the drystone wallers
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- Опубликовано: 14 июл 2023
- This video was filmed in 2004 as part of a DVD, Yorkshire Crafts & Traditions. Filmed and Edited by cameraman Steve Lord. www.yorkshirecameraman.co.uk
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Meet the Yorkshire drystone wallers who build and maintain hundreds of miles of farming boundaries.
David Griffiths shares his passion for drystone walling during re-building work at the Yorkshire Sculpture Park.
I could listen to that chap all day, he's well spoken
His voice was music to my ears
Note the absence of moronic fillers in his delivery. No ‘likes’, no ‘you knows’, just clear understandable statements. I counted a single ‘um’. This should be shown to every school kid as an example of good communication.
He's a product of a functioning education system
There are a lot of different accents in the UK... Some are easily understood and others are quite difficult... It's really surprising that they can have so many noticeably different accents so close to each other in such a small country...
There’s not much better than watching a master craftsman plying his trade, and creating something so unique and beautiful! 👍🏼👍🏼
Love this kind of thing. Centuries old craft, still being kept alive by a quiet, dedicated, humble hardworking few. Well done men.
most original walls were built by women...
@@fredfred6296They're clearly referring to the fellows in the video.
? You're indoctrinatec or have some non-truth agenda. I live in Yorks, do some dry walling, it's physically hard, women never did it apart from helping out, most dry walls we see today were built by gangs of men around the time of the Enclosure Acts.
@@fredfred6296 Sadly, most claims about women tend to turn out to be more false than true these days.
@@fredfred6296Where did you read that?
As impressive as the craft of dry waling is, this man has a talent for narration and story telling that is what really caught my attention.
He has a soothing voice
The waller is as articulate in explaining the craft as he is skilled in actually laying the stones. A marvellous little film.
The serenity he speaks of comes right through in his voice and mannerisms. He really has found his niche in life.
Amen.
This man would be a good narrator for historical documentary.
Yeah probably.
But there are a lot of narrators but not so many people who knows how to build dry stone walls.
Hats off to the wallers! And to those who recognized and filmed these craftsmen. Thank you!
What's cool is that here in Kentucky we still build these in the same way. Our ancestors carried the technique across the Atlantic and kept it alive to today. Nice work.
there is always one of you from there that has to brag, so self absorbed.
There are far more stone walls that have been swallowed up than are visible in Kentucky.
@@PetroicaRodinogaster264 What a resentful thing to write.
@@PetroicaRodinogaster264 What you think you are saying to them, you are actually saying about yourself. What a horrible self obsessed comment you've written.
It's great to hear these walls made it across the Atlantic. I live near the North York Moors and see these walls pretty much every day.
Brother there ain’t a stone mason to be found here in the States that can talk as proper as that fella. Especially in the rural areas (the dales). Impressive craftsmanship and a great video. Thanks for sharing.
I have to admit that, the squeeze through was really marvelously built. So elegant, it does go naturally with the landscape.
Salutation from a Greek island covered with dry-stone walls.
Are all the trees cut down there too? Amazed how bare the land is in Yorkshire and how they didn’t think to plant even a few trees.
Same on the island Gotland in the Baltic sea.
Trees don't grow very tall and wood has always been in short supply.
But the whole island is made from a sedimentary limestone that is easy to quarry and easily cut down to size.
There are large areas with only a thin layer of topsoil, not fit for agriculture and where only sheep can graze.
My dad loves sharing the story of when he first started driving in Somerset and lost control on a corner and took out a dry stone wall just as the mason was putting the final stones in. My grandfather made him go back the next day, and for the week after, to help repair the wall.
Dang. THIS is how things should be. Your grandfather was a wise man and a great role model....Man, that just made my day! Thank you for sharing.
@@johnduffy6546 and it rubbed off as my dad taught me the same sense of responsibility, and I’m teaching it to my two boys.
Culture is the collection of a million little things you do every day, and dry stone walls are a perfect example of that. If you don't support your craftsmen, these glorious walls are what you lose. Of course, supporting the craftsmen is about more than just hiring someone to put up a wall because it's the laws, regulations, taxes and everything else we support which has a huge impact on the small businesses we normally pay no attention to. Everyone talks about the straw that broke the camel's back, but never the million straws that came before and how they prevented the camel from doing camel things.
One man + one year = one mile. Got it.
Now I know roughly how to make them, I might try this on a miniature scale in my garden :)
How did it go?
Yes Dan. Did you give it a go? Were you able to build a small one?
True craftsmanship! hello from the U.S.A. Beautiful work
Can't believe this was 20 years ago. Feels like a couple of years..
I had farts last longer
Utterly absorbing - like the comment below, I could listen to that man for hours, he explains everything so well. I live in Burgundy in France, and have dry stone walls on my property that need some upkeep. Actually, that's something of an understatement. I still hope to be able to do the work myself at some point, and this little video has inspired me. Many thanks, Tom.
I’m obsessed with Masonary stonework just incredible works of art just mesmerized by the workmanship
Once came across a gentlemen repairing a wall in Derbyshire. He was well over fifty and i asked him how long he had been walling . His reply was that his eighty five year old father was teaching him !😊
Priceless!
Beautiful work, Master craftsmen! Thankyou for sharing their expertise!
Brilliant story teller. That man is a natural.
A wonderful video to understand how this masterpiece of work has been done. Greetings from Germany. 🫡
The satisfaction you must get deep down inside when you look at that wall and say I built that with my own two hands must be a awesome feeling
Magnificent walls , effective , of the place where they are , longer lasting than anything bar hedgerow. Great job . 👍🏴
Beautiful masonry. Having mostly flat rock to work with must be a joy. Here in northwestern U.S. the stone is glacial till and mostly rounded cobbles and boulders. Makes fitment a serious challenge.
They do some cutting to get it that flat.
Wow dude. Your calling, if not a waller, should have been a teacher. My grand kids would understand the basics of walling after this video. Well done.
ok dude
Spectacular work..and no one was on a cell phone.
This was filmed in 2004. - The first iPhone was released in 2007
@@zenrook1: Cell phones were around a long time before Apple entered the fray.
They probably were occasionally, off camera, they are craftsmen not cavemen
@@rayray8687 But in 2004 all people did with cell phones was make phone calls.
WOW! How could anyone possibly think these are ugly? They are MAGNIFICENT! The skill, determination and just plain hard work involved makes them a treasured art form! I can easily see where this would be a meditative craft
Mid 19th century version of cookie cutter subdivision houses sprawl lol.
Absolute respect for those working this craft.
By the time he stepped through the squeeze stone, I was in awe of their patience, strength, and skills.
Thoroughly enjoyed watching this thank you
True craftsmen can hardly put into words their appreciation for these skills, work done right is it's own reward !
An amazing craft and a very eloquent chap explaining the construction.
I am a dry stone waller, all day I dry stone wall
Of all appalling callings, dry stone walling's worst of all.
~Pam Ayers
First thing I thought of when I saw the thumbnail.
Waah.😂
I admire the craftsmanship!
Beautiful, and strongly presented.
Thank you for this very interesting video. The walls are a beautiful piece of art dotting the landscape. 👏👏👏
Glad you enjoyed it!
If some body or animal bush the Dry stone wall is it collapsed
What a perfect short, sweet, yet fantastic video. Thank you for that.
There are great stone walls in Ireland ~ Built mostly with Limestone.
incredible. Admire this as you would the egyptian pyramids. THIS IS YOUR HERITAGE AND CULTURE. protect it
Great video. Somehow i got pulled in.
"Just a quick peek, i told myself"....
Now i want more.
What a great video, and what a great group of people to carry on a tradition!
A mile of that a year per man is astonishing!
I don't know about you, but a mile a year is just 365 days. How many hours and days did they work a month, that in its self is incredible.
Fantastic mate, a pleasure to watch you all work .
DRystone or mortar... the natural look simply feels grounded. It's utterly beautiful. Not as artificial, cold and lifeless as concrete. Most likeable.
Also, David does a marvellous job explaining things.
He handsomely captures the concept of 'flow'', the effortless proficiency of a skilled craftsman ❤
Very nice work. He has the most soothing British accent I have ever heard
I fell in love with the Yorkshire landscape and these walls as a kid watching Last of the Summer Wine on PBS
Don’t you worry about some people calling the walls ugly, I think they looks great! Glad to see that groups like you and your good friends doing a great and wonderful jobs. Keep up the OLD WAYS and do teach this trade to the younger generation,so they can pass this knowledge on, peace and may GOD bless you all.👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🍺🍺🍺🍺🍺🍺🍺☮️☮️☮️☮️
Rural England is such a beauty, also because of these walls.
Wonderful video. Drystone walls are a thing of beauty.
I grew up with much less crafted drystone walls throughout our farmland. The skills shown here are outstanding!
What a blessing to do what you love doing as a lifelong career....
Hedgelaying, too....a work of art just to look at....
Fantastic craftsmanship! My very first job was a trainee QS on the M62 and we had a gang of wallers, a real pleasure to watch.
As nice as a job it is and looks, when he said there were complaints about them at first. I can imagine so, what those beautiful rolling hills looked like without them... must have been stunning.
I love how he said it seems to grow from the landscape rather than dominate it
This is a type of meditation. A wonderful thing to do.
amazing to experience well-spoken artisans sharing their expertise. hope this guy's doing well these days
Thank you....I always waned to know the history of these walls....most enjoyable listening to him.
What a great short doco, on something i have always admired. Bias perhaps, as my family come from there. Looking forward to learning that skill myself one day.
Fascinating, and what a narrator and guide!
that is so beautiful
Could listen to this chap all day long. Very knowledgeable and clearly spoken. Same as I could (and still do on RUclips) listen to Fred Dibnah.
As a retired stonemason I approve of this video.
I walked along and climbed over these walls as a kid, abandoned and being overrun with lantana and camphor laurels. Threw the fish I caught in the creek in their mossy shade.
But far from England. I grew up on the Far North Coast of New South Wales in Australia, and there were tons of these walls on our farm.
Early settlers built them.
❤ Aloha 🌺 from Germany. Thank you so much for sharing this "know how" amazing! In northern Germany we do have a lot of little stones of granite... collected from the farmers... I love to build walls in our paradisegarden. 😍🙏
Yorkshire is a beautiful place and the drystone walls and barns add to the beauty. Thank you for this video.
i don't get it when the waller said that some people says it look ugly.
amazing work , true heritage
Having worked with brother (a skilled mason) years ago and having atteMpted to gain basic competence in this art, I can say convincingly that it is not anywhere close to as easy to learn as this modest chap lets on.
There are those that can and those that can’t
So interesting, how great to have a skill and craft like that and apply it to a practical use. 👍
I learned so much from this video. 🥰 Thank you. 😊
That was absolutely brilliant. Thank you
It's pretty crazy to think just how much work building these kinds of wall actually take
"they could stand for centuries"
Clarkson has entered the chat
Great Video. Awesome Stone Artwork. God Bless You All - John 3:16
True beauty in mans efforts...
I like how the stone work complements the countryside.
Really interesting. In northern Spain, on a territory called "Valles Pasiegos", there is a similar landscape made of dry stone walls and stone cabins.
What a fantastic passion! Great Video
not a single like, stuff, whatever, or literally said. love it
I dig the meditation aspect. Making badass things with our hands is reward like no other.
beautiful video. salute to these craftsmen
An eternally fluid rock laying genius.
A true trades man
It's good to see this ancient craft still alive.
I live in Puglia, in southern Italy, and it's impressive how similar the construction technique is to the drystone walls you can see down here.
The walls are beautiful
Interesting and beautiful. I'm from New England, where we have the uglier, less cared for brother of these stone walls, the fieldstone wall. They were made from the meeting of two practicalities of life. The fields in New England grow stones more easily than any crop, so farmers needed to remove them to plow, and they needed to have markers between landowners and fences to keep sheep in. Building fences of stones made a useful way to dispose of them without carrying them far. These days the farmers have mostly moved to more fertile areas and the fields are woods. So if you go for a hike, you'll inevitably come across an old, falling down waist height wall.
If nothing else, this video very effectively frames the capacity of iron tools for working stone. Distribution of such implements was spotty across the globe for a long period of human history.
Douglas Adam’s book ‘the meaning of Liff’ used the name ‘phrean’ to describe the feeling you get when looking at a really good bit of dry-stone walling.
That’s the best thing I’ve seen in a long time 😊
Love this ! We just need to restore our ancient woodlands aswell
What a beautiful craft that's for sure 😊
What a gentle ol' chap.
Excellent craftsmanship.
I always wondered about these walls, now I know why...
Beautiful. Subscribed.
So interesting! Thankyou.🙂👍
There are also thousands of miles of drystone walls in New England, in America. They are seen in the forested hills of Vermont and New Hampshire. When settlers first arrived, they cleared the land and farmed it, and built walls. Then they discover much more land to the west that was far easier to farm, so they let the forests regrow around the drystone walls.