A Cornish hedge is a stone-faced earth and rab (a type of stony soil) filled bank. It has a concave batter (shape) and is twice as wide at its base than its top and they may or may not have woody vegetation growing out of the top depending on location and style. Traditionally, these hedges were built with ditches on either side. The earliest Cornish hedges are about 3,500 years old, making them one of the oldest human-made structures still used for their original purpose. They are as ancient as some of the later Egyptian pyramids. Cornish hedges are neither a hedgerow or a dry-stone wall, they are unique and mainly found in Cornwall. Cornish hedges are common across the protected landscape. They link all 12 Sections of our National Landscape and provide connections across the whole of the county.
Culturally and environmentally important, Cornish Hedges need protection and management to thrive. Spanning 30,000 miles, they form Cornwall’s largest semi-natural habitat. Despite their importance, there is a significant gap in evidence at scale to fully capture the contributions of Cornish Hedges for farm business and the wider environment.
We are looking to find out more about Cornish hedges on farm and how we can support farmers and land managers to repair, gap up and create more Cornish hedges. We think that there is a funding gap, amongst other challenges, but it’s only a guess. We want to understand fully so that we can develop better tools and resources to help conserve and enhance the Cornish hedge.
We really appreciate your time and knowledge in the following survey. There are 29 questions but they are mostly tick box and we expect that this should take you less than 20 mins to complete.
