A CRUMBLING 18th century wall on the Quantocks has given the National Trust an opening to help keep a rural skill alive. But first the trust is hoping that a local landowner will be able to offer the stone necessary to repair the wall at Staple Plain, West Quantoxhead. The stone-faced earth bank is rapidly deteriorating due to wind, weather, age and stock damage and the trust is looking for volunteers to help repair it. The restoration and rebuilding project is planned to allow people to learn about stone faced banking on the job while also maintaining the wall's historic value. National Trust warden Nigel Garnsworthy said: "The bank has fallen into disrepair but remains one of the few repairable sections of what was once a significant landscape feature in the area. "Ideally, we would like to use local stone sourced from a local quarry, but unfortunately all of the Quantock quarries have been closed for some time and stone is in short supply. "We have spread our net far and wide trying to match the stone from other quarries but so far without success. "We are hoping that a local landowner may have a small quarry that we are not aware of or may have overlooked or maybe someone has a pile of stone in their garden that they no longer require and would like to see put to use restoring part of the local heritage. We would be grateful to hear from anyone who may be able to help." The ideal stone for the job is a gritstone, which is pinkish in colour. Preferably, it should be in relatively large, long pieces. Once completed, the wall would form a feature to the property visible to the general public as the wall runs by the track leading to the Staple Plain car park. For more information about this project, contact Mr Garnsworthy on 01823 451814.
