Sunday, August 14, 2011

Hart House Farm Wall Workshop

This is one of several stone walls at Hart House Farm that were built by Canadian settlers well over a hundred years ago. This one will be rebuilt during the Rocktoberfest event on the Canadian Thanksgiving weekend.

Hart House farm is owned and operated by the University of Toronto. The wall will be the focus of two dry stone workshops taught by master craftsmen Norman Haddow and Dave Goulder from Scotland . They are both certified DSWA instructors who have been building dry stone walls and teaching the craft for many years.

Last weekend we began disassembling the wall in preparation for the festival workshop where we will be running a two day hands-on course teaching the basics of dry stone construction.
The stones in the wall are being spread and separated for reusing and the base is being cleared of debris. Its a lot of work but very satisfying. The stone wall runs along the main driveway into the farm and when it is rebuilt it will look as spectacular as it did when it was first built.