Ancient stone walls across North Wales are being dismantled by thieves, destroying part of the region’s heritage. The theft of stones for new walls or garden rockeries is “more common than most people think”, one expert said.
Local stone masons have described how some walls are being daubed with paint to deter thieves. Anglesey’s Desmond Gahan said he was recently asked to chisel fake cracks in coping stones in the hope they appeared not worth stealing.
“I’ve a customer in Brynteg who found the entire end of a field wall taken – around five metres,” he said. “Another wanted to build a new sandstone wall in Church Bay (Porth Swtan) – he ordered in the stone which was left in a pile in a field. Half of it was taken before the wall could be built.”
North Wales is a stronghold of “stone hedges” – old dry stone walls built to enclose livestock. The craft is ancient, going back back thousands of years, with many of the country’s walls built in the 19th century following Britain’s Enclosure Acts.
Rural historians regards them as important as the buildings, roads and bridges that shaped today’s countryside. Many are steeped in local history and folklore, and they are also important habitats for birds, insects and other animals.
Stone theft is nothing new, said master waller Sean Adcock from Penisarwaun, Gwynedd. Coping stone – the shaped (dressed) top stone used to make a wall look tidier – has long been a target, he said. “How widespread and severe it was, I’m not so sure,” he said.
“But I’m convinced that in my early years working in Nant Ffrancon, and driving down the old road from the A55, that coping stones were steadily disappearing. I do know of a landowner in Llanllechid who marked all his coping stones with dots – red, if I remember correctly – as he thought people were removing them from his walls.” Join the North Wales Live Whatsapp community now
Old stone wall on the road to South Stack on Holyhead Mountain (Mynydd Twr)
(Image: Monsyn/Wiki)
Matters recently came top a head when a photo was shared on social media of what appeared to be a ransacked wall between Holyhead and Trearddur, Anglesey. As loose stones were not lying around, and only the more valuable dressed stones had gone, theft was suspected. The culprits were labelled “mindless thugs”.
“Looks like it may have accidentally fallen into the back of a white pick-up…..several times,” said one man online. Another said: “Taken home for rockery stones… used to happen a lot around Moelfre.” Often, stolen stones are advertised on eBay and social media, said one expert.
The thefts have been called “heart-breaking”, not just for the landowners affected but also for the countryside’s visual appeal. Not only must local people suffer the consequences, so will Anglesey’s visitor economy. “All the thousands of tourists that go past here every year will see this awful mess,” said one man.
Desmond Gahan, a former Wales’ Strongest Man and a static car lift world record holder, runs Môn Masonry. The 30-year-old from Benllech said a mini-crimewave was happening in plain sight. Although he is skilled in all forms of masonry, he specialises in dry stone walls – and they are often easy pickings. “It’s happening more often, than people think,” he said.
“Creating the coping stones for the top of a wall involves hours of chiseling to make them look neater. Unfortunately, these are the stone thieves are usually after. But what can you do? You can’t police a wall 24/7. To try and deter thieves at a wall near Amlwch, I was recently asked to chisel some marks in topping stone to make them look as though they were cracked, even though they weren’t.
“I know of one landowner who sprays his walls with blue waymarker paint that can’t easily be removed. It may be effective but it’s spoiling the look of an old wall that is part of the nation’s heritage. It’s a real shame that people are stealing bit by bit walls that have, in some cases, been around for hundreds of years. Some, including a few on Anglesey, were built by women as they men were too busy working in the fields.”
There are no crime figures for stone wall thefts – but crime involving historic sites is on the rise, according to Heritage England. Particular targets are walls, paving slabs, granite cattle troughs and even stone fountains. Churches are a common target, with York stone often favoured, costing up to £400 per square metre to replace.
In 2024, Natural Resources Wales (NRW) reported a three-year cost of £120,000 to repair walls and fences damaged by theft and anti-social activities. A kissing gate was among the items stolen.
Too many people see wall theft as a victimless crime, said Mr Adcock, former secretary of the North Wales branch of the Dry Stone Walling Association (DSWA). Preservation orders can safeguard stone walls from new development but protecting them on roadsides, often in remote locations, is more difficult.
He said semi-derelict walls were particularly vulnerable. “I know this from talking to hillwalkers over the years,” he said. “It has never occurred to many of them that someone has to pay for the upkeep of walls and that they actually belong to someone. They tend to just see them as a part of the countryside. It would seem to logically follow that many might regard a derelict wall as fair game.”
Desmond Gahan, of Môn Masonry, can be reached on 07715 879714. Sign up for the North Wales Live newsletter sent twice daily to your inbox
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