project. redesign, remove and rebuild an retaining dry stone wall

date. Winter 2020

location. Uppermill, Greater Manchester

specification. This year's winter took me to a beautiful cottage in the picturesque village of Uppermill, Greater Manchester to redesign and rebuild a magnificent thirty metre long by two metre high retaining dry stone wall. Starting in the winter frost, working in mud, sleet, plenty of rain and finishing in the glorious spring sunshine the job was both challenging and very rewarding. 

The old retaining wall held up a a large bank on which sat two garages and further back a driveway. It
had started to collapse and the owners were becoming worried about it all sliding down the hillside.

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To begin with I contracted in Ian Brown (Ian Brown link), a well known countryside craftsman to help cut, winch and chip the trees growing out of and at the bottom of the wall.

Second I took down the existing wall, removing waste and separating stones into piles to be reused and those only fit for back-filling and strengthening the bank behind the wall.

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Starting behind the garages on a slope down to the railway line the wall cornered to the front garden where
it reached its two metre height and curved upwards towards the house.

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