Hurdles

There are two basic types of hurdle, the gate hurdle and the wattle hurdle, with various regional patterns of each.

The making of hurdles requires various techniques which can also be used to make a range of other products. Wattle hurdles are one of the main hazel products, and a skilled worker with access to good quality hazel coppice can make a living from hurdle making.

The gate hurdle

The gate hurdle, which is like a lightweight farm gate, was traditionally used to pen sheep, pigs or bullocks, but its main use is now in gardens. Sweet chestnut is the best wood, but ash, oak, elm, hazel and willow may also be used. Typical dimensions are shown, but vary with area and use. Some patterns have six rails for better stock control. Kent hurdles have a metal ring or ferrule around the top of each upright, to protect it from damage whilst being driven into the ground.

1. Start with some straight coppice poles about 50-100mm (2-4”) diameter, and at least 2.4m (8’) long. Cleave these using a froe and cleaving brake to produce half-round clefts for the cross-bars and braces.
2. For the uprights cleave a 75-100mm (3-4”) diameter pole, at least 1.2m (4’) long, into two clefts. Use them as they were cut, with the two cleft faces towards each other, so that any curves are the same at both ends. Point the lower end of each upright.
3. For the cross-bars, cut the required number of 50-100mm (2-3”) clefts to length, normally 1.4m (8’). Shave the ends to make tenons, making sure these are in the same plane and do not ‘wind’ with the wood, otherwise the hurdle will be crooked.
4. Lay one upright cleft face up, and using each cross-bar in turn held upright, mark the positions for the mortises. Mark each cross-bar so you know which mortise it matches.
5. Holding the upright horizontally in the cleaving brake, drill out the top and bottom of the mortise with a brace and bit, and preferably clean out the waste with a twybil. Otherwise, drill out three or four holes, and then clean out the waste with a chisel.
   
6. Assemble the uprights and cross bars, by fitting the tenons into the appropriate mortise. Using cut nails, or ordinary nails slightly blunted on the tip with a hammer, nail the joints. The nails should be long enough to protrude, so the ends can be bent over to stop them loosening; a technique called clench-nailing.
7. Finally shape the three braces and nail them in position.

Wattle hurdles

The wattle hurdle has a dense weave, to make a windproof barrier for sheep pens and garden uses. Hazel is the best material to use, being pliable, strong and long-lasting. Willow can also be used, but is not nearly so durable.

You should be experienced in using a single-handed billhook and in keeping it sharp, and you will need strong wrists and fingers to bend the material to shape.

Hurdles for enclosing sheep are normally 6’ (1.8m) long by 3’6” (1m) high, with 10 uprights or sails (also called zales). Garden hurdles are usually the same length, but various heights are made. Because they are moved less than sheep hurdles and therefore don’t have to be quite so robust, only 9 sails are used. The section below describes one method of constructing a garden hurdle, but variations in style and technique will be found. Hurdles are a traditional product, made to imperial measurements, which are therefore used in the diagrams above.

Tools and materials

• Billhook and saw to cut the stems from the stool.
• Spar-hook or light billhook, plus whetstone, for splitting stems.
• An upright post or chopping block to support the stems as you cut them.
• A steel rule or measuring stick for lengths up to 6’ (1.8m).
• Billet of wood for compacting the weave.
• Loppers, for trimming the rod ends.
• A mould, made to the dimensions shown below.

A hazel hurdle requires a quantity of straight coppiced rods, from ¹/₂” (12mm) to 1¹/₄” (30mm) diameter. Some are used in the round, but most are split. Techniques for splitting thin rods are described below.

Hurdle mould

The mould should be prepared in a workshop from a piece of timber 8’ (2.45m) long x 4” (100mm) x 8” (200mm). Angle the holes, as shown, to take the sails. The mould must be firmly secured to the ground at each end, by one of the methods shown above.

Preparing the sails

The end sails should be ³/₄”-1¹/₄” (20-30mm) diameter, used in the round. The remaining sails can be round, but are usually split from stems 1-1¹/₂” (25-40mm) diameter. The sails should be straight, and must be stiff enough to ensure that the horizontal rods bend in and out of them without forcing them out of position.

To split a stem, prop it against the post and position the spar-hook across the end, and then tap the back of the blade with a billet to start the split. Then proceed as for split rods (see below).

Sharpen the thicker end to fit into the hole of the mould to a depth of at least 5” (125mm). The safest way is to hold the sail upright on a block or post, and then trim downwards with the spar-hook. Cut to the required length.

The split surfaces of the sails can face either direction. A consistent pattern will help identify your work!

Splitting a rod

Use a thatcher’s spar hook or a light curved billhook. The easiest rods on which to practise are those with a ‘Y’ shaped fork at the upper end of the rod, where the rod is about ³/₄” (18mm) diameter.

1. First hold the rod at the butt end and trim off any side shoots with the spar-hook.
2. Then rest the butt end on the ground and, for right-handed cutting, hold the left branch of the Y with your left hand, well away from where you will cut. Snick the spar-hook into the crotch to start the split.
3. Move the handle of the spar-hook from side to side so that the tip of the blade levers the rod apart and extends the split. Run the blade down, keeping your left hand safely out of harm’s way behind it to support the rod, and using your thumb and fingers to help prise the halves apart, until the rod is split in two.

That’s the theory! In practice, note the following:

• Beginners will find that the blade soon deviates from the centre, ‘running out’ to one side or the other. If the blade is running out to the right, bend the left-hand half-rod away from the split, and vice versa.
  
• You can apply a small amount of bending with the spar-hook itself, as moving the haft to the right tends to bend the left half-rod and vice versa.
  
• Where there is no convenient fork to start the split, snick the spar-hook into the side of the rod, where it is about ³/₄” (18mm) diameter, and apply the above principles to guide the blade into the middle.
• To start a split at the cut end of a rod, rest it over a post or chopping block, position the tip of the blade correctly, and pull gently and carefully towards you, using the post or block to protect yourself from accident.
  

Doubling

This is the technique of bending and twisting a round or split rod around the end sails and back on itself. If you merely bend it, the rod will break.

• Ensure the rod is free of knots at the point where you will be bending it.
  
• As you bend the rod it will be nipped tight by the sails, providing resistance so that you can simultaneously twist it. You will feel the rod ‘give’ as the longitudinal fibres in the wood part from each other.
• Continue to bend and twist together as the rod goes around the end sail.
• Split rods twist through 180˚ in the course of doubling back. Thus all the split faces appear on the same side of the hurdle, facing away from you as you build it.
• Twisting round rods turns them into a coarse flexible rope. The final rod of the hurdle is wound round the end sail for a complete turn-and-a-half.
• Unless you are very skilled some broken fibres may spring out at the turns, but you will soon be able to feel whether you have turned a rod successfully or nearly broken it.

Starting off

In the following descriptions, sails are numbered 1-9, and rods are a, b, c,

Of the three basic weaving patterns required, the one you need first is the most difficult to master, with numerous different styles adopted by different craftsmen. Round rods are used for this bottom section.

The essentials of the starting weave are that a pair of rods cross at the bottom between 2 and 3, and between 7 and 8. The inner ends of these four rods (a, b, e, f) are woven into the body of the hurdle immediately; the other ends are left protruding until about 8” (200mm) of weave has built up. They are then curved upwards to turn round the end-sails, so ‘hitching up the skirts’ of the hurdle, so the weave cannot fall down at the bottom (see diagram at the top of this page).

No rod has its end in contact with the mould; all ends are supported on other rods. The weave is built up to the right with a succession of rods to create a long triangle, and then levelled out again with an equivalent process to the left, creating another triangle. The first rods are lifted and woven over the later rods, locking the section together.

As you do steps 3-7 below, use your loppers to trim back the ends of each rod as it is woven into its final position, so the ends don’t interfere with the next rod.

Rods a and b are preferably at least 9’ (2.7m) long. They will hitch up the left end of the hurdle, so choose the best quality material for them, to avoid breakage at a late stage of construction!

1. Lay rods a and b as shown, with the butts protruding about 3’ (1m) to the left of 1, and enough length to the right to later weave slanting up and along to 9, over the rods to the right (top illustration).
2. Rods c, d, e and f must be over 6’ (1.8m) long. Choose the longest rods for e and f, as they are used to hitch up the right-hand end. With the tips to the left and starting with c, fit each into position in front of 4, 5, 6 and 7 respectively.
3. Lift e over f so they cross between 7 and 8 (bottom illustration).
4. Lift d over e between 6 and 7 and weave along to 9, turn and weave back to finish behind 7.
5. Lift c over d between 5 and 6, weave along to 9, turn and finish behind 6.
6. Weave the right-hand part of b in front of 5 and along to finish at 9. Rod b will thus end higher than c, d, e and f.
7. Weave the right-hand part of rod a in front of 4 and along to 9, so it finishes at the top of the right-hand triangle. There should be a neat row of rod-ends on the back side of the hurdle.

Level this out with a left-hand triangle as follows:

1. The first rod starts behind 8 and weaves left, round 1 and back to finish behind 3.
2. The second rod starts behind 4 and weaves left, round 1 and back to finish behind 7.
3. The third rod starts behind 6 and weaves left, round 1 and back to finish behind 5. (*Note the resulting pattern, with each rod starting and finishing one sail closer to the middle than the previous one. This technique is used again to build a triangle at the top of the hurdle.)
4. Then add two more rods woven opposite ways from 1 to 9.
5. ‘Hitch up’ rods a, b, e and f in that order, by curving them up to pass inside the end sail and turning them to continue on top of the weave. Rods a and e should finish behind 4, with b and f behind 5. See main diagram on page 125.

Weaving the main body

As before, stand on the convex side or front of the hurdle, with the cut ends of the bottom section to the back. The split rods are woven so that their flat surfaces face away from you. The simplest form of weaving is used, with each rod going alternately in front and behind the sails. You must keep the sails reasonably in line. A strong rod which tends to push them out of position can be counteracted by a similar weight rod woven in immediately above. Compact the weave by periodically tapping down with the billet.

The only problems are joining in new rods, and maintaining the rectangular shape of this middle section.

To make a simple join, let in the next rod by poking it into the weave, so that it takes over from the old rod and continues in the same direction.

Where the rod runs out at the end, you can use two or three 6’ (1.8m) rods in succession without turns, but you must ensure there are enough turned rods to hold the hurdle together.

If one end of the weave gets higher than the other, take advantage of irregularities in your material to even it out. Or when you add a new rod at an inner sail, reverse the direction of weave as shown below.

Measure the dimensions of the developing hurdle at intervals. If an end sail splays outwards, bend it in with your shoulder as you turn a rod around it. If the sail tends inwards, make the turn and then tug the sail out before continuing the weave. If the inner sails deviate sideways, tap them back into position with your billet. The last rod of the main body should go behind 1 and 9.

The tops of the sails should all finish along the same gentle curve as the bottom ends. You will probably need to strain the half-completed hurdle or individual sails from time to time to keep the hurdle in shape. Some warp in the completed hurdle will flatten out as it dries, but if any sail gets badly out of position you will be in trouble, as the rods will not bend round it without breaking.

Finishing the hurdle

First you must build the final right triangle. Use three 7’ (2.1m) rods, each doubling round 9, the technique 1-3* above, reversed.

Thus:

1. Start behind 2 and finish behind 7
2. Start behind 6 and finish behind 3
3. Start behind 4 and finish behind 5

To form a locking weave for the final left triangle, you have to insert both ends of each rod under an existing rod. The trick for the second end of the rod is to bend it into a bow past three sails, push the end into place, and then lift the rod over the ‘missed’ sail to complete the weave.

1. Use a long split rod for rod a. Sharpen the butt if necessary and tuck it through the weave between 8 and 9, about 9” (230mm) from the top. Turn it round 9 and weave down to 1.
2. If rod a is long enough, turn it round 1 and weave it back. Bring it in front of 6, 7 and 8 and tuck the tip in behind 9. Then lift it over 7 to complete the weave.
3. If rod a is too short for this, turn it round 1 and finish behind 3. Reverse the weave with a second rod a1, let in behind 4, turn it round 1 and weave back as described in step 2 above.
4. The butt of b is tucked under a (or a1) behind 8. It is woven down to 1 and back, coming in front of 4, 5 and 6 to finish under itself and behind 7. Then lift it over 5.
5. Rod c is a stiff round rod about 4’ (1.2m) long. Tuck its tip under b behind 6 and weave to the left, leaving it hanging out behind both 2 and 1.
6. Rod d is a good round rod over 6’ (1.8m) long. Tuck it under c behind 5, weave to 1, do a double turn round 1, tuck it under itself behind 4 and then lift it over 2. Finally lift the butt of c over 1 to pin down d.

Trimming and stacking

Lift the completed hurdle from the mould. Cut off any protruding ends of rods and stack the hurdles on top of one another with their convex sides uppermost to dry out for a week or so.