Cob Wall and Kissing Gate

Introduction

The photograph on this page of Cob Wall and Kissing Gate by Nigel Mykura as part of the Geograph project.

The Geograph project started in 2005 with the aim of publishing, organising and preserving representative images for every square kilometre of Great Britain, Ireland and the Isle of Man.

There are currently over 7.5m images from over 14,400 individuals and you can help contribute to the project by visiting https://www.geograph.org.uk

Cob Wall and Kissing Gate

Image: © Nigel Mykura Taken: 17 Mar 2012

The wall is made of cob , a mixture of clay and other materials and the gate is made of wrought iron. The wrought iron which is resistant to corrosion showed very little sign of rust especially where human hands had added protective grease to the top bar. The wall is susceptible to damage by damp and is protected by a tiled roof to keep the rain off. Unfortunately the wall had been repaired with Portland cement (the darker grey patches). This material is incompatible with cob and is likely to lead to increased damage in the future. It should have been repaired with cob or perhaps soft lime mortar but not hard cement mortar which is impervious and does not let the wall breathe or moisture escape.

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