The Tradition of Fencing
What is a Fence?
When talking about the history of fence, as well as the tradition of fence installation here in the US, we must first clarify the definition of a fence.
A fence is a structure that encloses an area, usually outdoors, and is normally made of posts joined by boards, wire, rails, or netting. A fence varies from a wall in that it does not have a solid foundation along its entire length.
• Agricultural fencing serves the purpose of keeping cattle in and predators out.
• Blast fence, a safety barrier that redirects a jet engine’s high-energy exhaust.
• To mitigate noise pollution, use a sound barrier or acoustic fencing[3].
• a barrier for crowd management
• Privacy fencing is used to provide both privacy and security.
Temporary fencing for safety, security, and movement control; wherever temporary access control is required, particularly on building and construction sites.
Perimeter fencing is used to deter trespassing and theft, as well as to keep children and pets from wandering away.
Decorative fencing is used to improve the aesthetic of a home, garden, or other landscape.
Boundary fencing is used to demarcate a piece of real estate.
A low barrier made of plastic sheeting or similar materials to restrict the movement of amphibians or reptiles is known as newt fencing, amphibian fencing, drift fencing, or turtle fencing.
A pet fence is a type of underground fence used to keep pets contained.
A balustrade, also known as a railing, is a fence that prevents people from falling over an edge. It is most typically encountered on a stairway, landing, or balcony. Roofs, bridges, cliffs, pits, and bodies of water all have railings and balustrades.
During the building process
Brushwood fencing is a fence constructed with wires on either side of brushwood to compact the brushwood material.
Chain-link fencing and wire fencing made of braided wires
Close boarded fencing is a strong and sturdy fence made of mortised posts, arris rails, and vertical feather edge boards.
Expanding fence or trellis, a folding structure made of wood or metal on the scissor-like pantograph principle, used as a temporary barrier in some cases.
Hedge, which includes:
- The cactus fence
- Hedgerows of live, interwoven bushes (constructed by hedge laying)
- The use of live woody species for fences is known as live fencing.
- Hurdle fencing with movable pieces
Pale fence is made up of pales, which are vertical posts embedded in the ground with their exposed ends often tapered to shed water and avoid rot from moisture penetrating end-grain wood, and horizontal rails, which are typically in two or three courses. Fencing that is made up of posts and rails is often known as “post and rail” fencing.
Palisade, or stakewall, is composed of vertical pales put side by side, one end planted in the ground and the other often sharpened, to offer protection; two courses of waler are typically added on the inner side to support the wall.
Picket fences are often waist-high, painted, and partially decorative fences.
Roundpole fences, comparable to post-and-rail fencing but with more tightly spaced rails, are common in Scandinavia and other raw timber-rich locations.
Slate fence, a form of palisade constructed of vertical slate slabs strung together. In regions of Wales, this expression is often used.
Split-rail fence is a type of timber fence that is typically placed in a zig-zag pattern, especially in recently developed areas of the United States and Canada.
Vaccary fence (called from the Latin word vaca, which means “cow fence”) is a type of cattle restraining fence made of thin slabs of stone laid upright and seen in various locations throughout the north of the United Kingdom when sufficient stone is available.
Solid fences, such as:
Dry-stone wall or rock barrier, commonly used in agriculture. Commonly referred to as retaining wall.
A stockade fence is a solid fence made up of contiguous or extremely closely spaced round or half-round posts or stakes that are typically pointed at the top. A scaled-down variant of a wood palisade wall, most typically used for seclusion.
Wattle fencing is made of broken branches that are weaved between stakes.
• Fencing made of wire
• Fence made with smooth wire
• Fence made of barbed wire
• The electric fence
Woven wire fencing comes in a variety of styles, ranging from fine chicken wire to hefty mesh “sheep fence” or “ring fence.”
Wrought iron fencing, often known as ornamental iron fencing, is a type of fencing made of wrought iron.
Concerns about the law
The usage of fence is restricted in most developed areas, with different regulations in commercial, residential, and agricultural sectors. Height, material, setback, and aesthetic difficulties are among the factors that must be taken into account.
For safety and security concerns, the following sorts of locations or facilities are frequently required by law to be fenced in:
- Factory explosions and quarry stores
- The majority of industrial plants
- Airports and airfields
- Military zones
- Prisons
- Sites of construction
- Zoos and nature preserves
Fencing’s History
Servitudes are lawful land-use arrangements resulting from private agreements. Most land in England was cultivated in common fields under the feudal system, where peasants were assigned strips of arable land to satisfy the requirements of the local village or manor. The expansion of population and income during the sixteenth century generated incentives for landlords to utilize their land in more profitable ways, dispossessing the peasantry. To optimize the productivity of the available land and contain animals, large and ambitious farmers aggregated and enclosed common fields, either through agreement among themselves or through lease from the landlord. Fences changed the way land is used, resulting in the contemporary law of servitudes.
The first inhabitants in the United States claimed territory by simply fencing it in. Later, as the American government emerged, undeveloped land became officially owned by the government, and systems to register land ownership evolved, typically making raw land available for low or no cost if the owner fixed the area, including the installation of fences. However, the remaining vast tracts of unsettled land were frequently used as a commons, or, in the American West, “open range.” As habitat degradation occurred as a result of overgrazing, and a tragedy of the commons situation arose, common areas began to be allocated to individual landowners via mechanisms such as the Homestead Act and Desert Land Act and fenced in, or, if kept in public hands, leased.
In the eastern and western United States, distinct systems of property ownership and fencing evolved. The east coast’s first fence rules were based on the British common law system, and rapidly rising population swiftly resulted in legislation requiring cattle to be walled in. Geographical ownership patterns and regulations in the west showed a considerable impact of Spanish law and history, and the large land area involved made comprehensive fencing impracticable until required by a growing population and landowner conflicts. The “open range” practice of requiring landowners to fence out undesired animals was prominent in most of the rural west until very late in the twentieth century, and open range legislation still exist in a few scattered areas of the west today. Fences are now generally built as exactly as possible on the surveyed property line. Today, each state in the US is free to enact its own fence-related legislation. In many circumstances, rules were created to oblige nearby landowners to share responsibilities for maintaining a common border fenceline, which applies to both rural and urban property owners. However, just 22 states have kept that provision in place today.
Some states in the United States, such as Texas, Illinois, Missouri, and North Carolina, have passed legislation declaring that purple paint markings on fences (or trees) are the legal equivalent of “No Trespassing” signs. The restrictions are intended to save landowners, particularly those in rural regions, from having to replace printed signs that are frequently stolen or ruined by the elements.
