Friends from far and wide, in this monumental moment in time we are delighted to be introducing you to the Devon Branch, instigated by our Chair Dave Hunt (well known for his tomfoolery and kind nature). We are a collective of passionate wallers, inspired by each other and the legends of wallers that have come before us and taught us, our friendships forged at Trad Crafts and at branch member days, the opportunity to celebrate and share our love of stone faced Devon Banks and walls, and our aim to showcase the outstanding variety of stone and styles found in the region we call home.

Devon is blessed with schist, granite, limestone, ironstone, sandstone, slate, shillet, mudstone and the river cobbles that have tumbled down from Dartmoor. Our Devon Banks are of particular interest, being faced with stone on both the horizontal and vertical planes, coursed and random built, sometimes even on the diagonal when close to the Cornish border. Yer tiz tru bueys ne gals canye by fond dychining in narth ah Debun, wen idden gakeing ar bein a gurt noodle!

The skill of creating a slightly concave batter during the build contributes to the strength of the banks during settlement, the concave is not as extreme as found in Cornwall with their Cornish Hedges, as the aim is to achieve a straight batter post settlement. Occasionally, in areas of lesser quality stone, and scarcity, the banks are faced with turf sods; turf hedging is a skill rarely seen and we are proud to practice this ancient skill.

Through the formation of the Devon Branch we hope to promote and preserve the boundaries we are all so very proud to restore, and to provide opportunities to learn the Devon ways.

The honour that we all feel whilst out walling on the moor, in the estuary, along the rivers and coastline and on the farmland of Devon is like no other, it runs deep in our veins, through supporting each other on projects, developing grit and determination in one another, and a passion for teaching the next generation of wallers is what has brought us together.

All of us are grateful for the advice and guidance received to date, and the partnerships and friendships that have developed, particularly with the Ellwood Branch geddon! A thank you also goes out to the South West of England Branch for supporting the decision to form our own Branch.

We look forward to welcoming you in the not to distant future.