When is a wall not a wall?

Tweet

To me, a wall is a self-supporting boundary built of some solid material such as bricks, stones or concrete blocks. If a continuous boundary is created from living bushes or trees, that’s a hedge (if it isn’t continuous then it’s just a row of trees or bushes). If it’s made from other materials such as wood palings, trellis, pickets, or wooden posts with wire mesh or barbed wire, that’s a fence. So the term ‘stone fence’ has always puzzled me. If it’s made of stone, it ought to be a wall, so is a ‘stone fence’ just a wall by another name? But then, not long ago, in a little village, I did actually come across something I considered fitted the bill. This boundary is made of stone, but it could hardly be called a wall in the usual sense. Have you seen anything like this, and what would you call it? All rights reserved. © Text and image copyright Fleur 2025.