Craftsman

This evocative black‑and‑white image, first published in The Sphere on 9 February 1935, shows a skilled hedge‑layer standing upon his “ladder” of stakes and rails as he weaves young saplings into a living fence. Clad in heavy gloves, gaiters and a flat cap, he trims and interlaces each branch to create a dense, stock‑proof barrier—a craft honed over centuries in the rolling fields of Cumberland around Carlisle.

Historical Context In the interwar years, traditional hedgelaying remained vital to British agriculture. Before the widespread use of barbed wire, rural estates and smallholdings relied on these living fences to contain sheep and cattle, shelter crops from wind and mark property boundaries. Craftsmen like this Cumberland layer upheld a rural heritage threatened by mechanisation, ensuring that England’s patchwork countryside retained both its productivity and its character.

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