Smaller interlocking rocks are used to build the hedge high until it reaches a level when random turns into neat rows of square stones called "edgers".
— Article in The West Briton[1]The hedge is slightly wider at bottom than at the top, because of the large "grounder" stones at the base.
[2] The archaeologist Francis Pryor observes: A visitor to Devon and Cornwall cannot fail to be impressed by the massive hedgebanks that so often confine the road into something approaching a ravine or tunnel.
Others were built during the Mediaeval field rationalisations; more originated in the tin and copper industrial boom of the 18th and 19th centuries, when heaths and uplands were enclosed.
[citation needed] Cornish hedges suffer from the effects of tree roots, burrowing rabbits, rain, wind, farm animals and people.
‘Kerdroya: The Cornish Hedge Community Heritage Project’ is being carried out in partnership by Golden Tree Productions and the Cornwall Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB).