A Historic Vaccary Wall, a photo from Lancashire, England

Photographer's Note

Hello Everyone,

This is a close up of a vaccary wall.

I have shown vaccary walls previously but at Wycoller.
This vaccary wall is in quite good repair and is to be found at Winewall.

The term 'vaccary' comes from the mediaeval Latin "vaccaria" with 'vacca' meaning cow. Thus, this was a place where cows were kept.

A vaccary was a small cattle farm. The fields, for the cows, were separated by these large, irregular, upright slabs of stone, with their lower sections sunk deep into the ground. They are thought to originate in the 13th century.

A different view of a vaccary wall in my workshop.

Thank you for your interest, Bev :-)

Fis2, PaulVDV, pierrefonds, jhm, COSTANTINO, jemaflor, ktanska, adramad, macjake, aliabazari, jean113 has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

holmertz (102760) 2022-04-24 6:27

Hello Bev,
This somehow reminds me of an old English graveyard with flat, mossy slabs leaning a bit here and there. But the church seen here is too far away, and graves are rarely lined up like this. So I accept that this is a way of keeping cows on one side, although I don't think doing it this way was ever a tradition in Sweden. Now these stones can be enjoyed for the beauty they create, especially when seen on such a nice diagonal as here, with so many trees and hills and an old church in the background.
So far no WS!
Kind regards,
Gert

Silvio1953 (221695) 2022-04-24 6:53

Ciao cara Bev, great perspective on fantastic wall, wonderful natural colors, excellent clarity and splendid light, very well done, my friend, ciao Silvio

Fis2 (170839) 2022-04-24 6:54

Witaj Bev!
Wonderful place.
A very interesting stone wall, I love it.
Good framing, perspective and colors.
Where's WS?
Have a nmice sunday afternoon.
Krzysztof

PaulVDV (62970) 2022-04-24 8:01

Hello Beverley,
As the dry stone walls are only found in the British Isles and in Ireland, at least I think only there, such a vaccary wall is also something typical of these areas.
I only know such vaccary walls from seeing in your photos. You've shown them before, I believe.
Dry stone walls I've ever seen in Ireland. But I haven't yet seen a stone wall to stop the cattle in real life.
If there are no cows or a farm in the immediate vicinity, you could perhaps convince foreign tourists that this wall was built in the time of Stonehenge... Who knows?
Best regards, Paul

pierrefonds (114516) 2022-04-24 9:34

Hi Bev,

The scene is impressive. The point of view is showing the details of the vaccary wall. The light is bring out the colors. Have a nice day.

Pierre

Tue (92442) 2022-04-24 9:45

Hello Beverley,
A great photo of this old wall and its stones. You placed them well in the composition with green grass on either side. Also the church among the trees in the distance is a great bonus.
Lars

lousat (139308) 2022-04-24 12:19

Ciao Bev,two very explanatory photos that make us understand how the cows' pens were surrounded in the past, certainly hard to build considering the size and weight of the stone slabs, but a guarantee of resistance for centuries as these two demonstrate, a very interesting about how our ancestors worked. Have a nice week and thanks,Luciano

mkamionka (74509) 2022-04-24 12:27

Hi Bev,
Very nice composition with the wall passing diaginally through your frame. In spite of the clouds sky we have nice light and contrast level which makes the picture quite eye pleasing. I didn't know this expression "vaccary" so I learned something new today :)
Very well done,
M

COSTANTINO (116560) 2022-04-24 22:04

Hello dear Beverley and have a nice day
and a happy evening
original version
interesting capture and a close up
of a vaccary wall
thanks for the details in order
to understand better
what vaccary means
regards
costantino

jemaflor (147204) 2022-04-24 23:28

Hi Bev,
interesting photo about caccary wall, good note too. I like the perspective effect and the good colors contrast, the light is perfect, tfs.

pajaran (115963) 2022-04-25 8:30

Pozdrav.

Lep pogled i trenutak, dobar tekst ...
lepa kamena ograda i drvece, dobro pokazano sa lepim bojama, kontrastom, perspektivom i uhvacenim trenutkom sa oblacima koji najavljuju promenu vremena.
Lepo polje sa zelenom travom.
Dobar rad, sa lepom fotografijom u radionici.

Zelim vam lepo popodne, sve najbolje u novoj nedelji koja je pocela.
Paja

ktanska (44790) 2022-04-25 9:32

Hi Bev,
A good closeup of this ancient fence or wall. It was enormous work to build such, but then it lasts forever. I see the grass is already quite long, but trees don't have full foliage yet.
Kari

adramad (73006) 2022-04-26 10:33

Hi Bev.
A magnificent composition, with this curious and durable wall, with those huge stone slabs, making this boundary to delimit the fields and that the cattle do not escape is a titanic job with those rocks that must weigh an enormous amount of tons. Likewise, the WS photo has a nice perspective of the field and the wall.
Great color that brings out the details of the image, the sharpness is excellent and the lighting is splendid.
Very good work. I like very much.
You have a good day. Very best regards.
Luis.

macjake (98456) 2022-04-26 14:43

Hi Bev
I hope people appreciate these stone walls, and because of you, I have learned alot about them. TE is great that way. I think before I just ignored these but not any more. very well composed, sharp as a tac, and I like the bg of tall trees to complete it. nice one
cheers
Craig

aliabazari (22255) 2022-04-29 9:38

Hello Beverley
Beautiful view of this stone wall. They must be very old. Clarity and lighting done well. Combines well with the green of the grass. The workshop view shows well. Thanks for sharing

jmdias (115230) 2022-04-29 10:14

bev

I can imagine the big effort of old people to bring these big stones and put them in the soil. it is an amazing rampart. nice these two images.

take care

jorge

jean113 (27893) 2022-05-01 9:44

Hello Beverley, I recall you sharing a vaccary wall before, something that I had never observed before.
The wall must have taken some building with those large slabs of stone, they must be so heavy.
I like this composition with the wall diagonally placed across the frame.
The trees and the church add extra interest.
Thanks for sharing.
Kind regards, Jean.

GyurMaster (24838) 2022-05-23 0:35

Dear Beverley,

It is a nice portrayal of this historic monument. It made me think that today it is more easier to build a fence thanks to modern materials. :)

Best Wishes,
Gy.