What is a crinkle-crankle wall?
A crinkle-crankle wall, also called a serpentine or ribbon wall, is a garden wall built in a continuous wavy line, which lets it stand at just half a brick thick and forms sheltered, sun-trapping bays for growing fruit. The Dutch call it a slangenmuur (snake wall). The south-facing hollows catch the sun, block the wind and store heat in the brickwork, creating a warm microclimate for peaches, apricots and figs.
History and structural behaviour
The form is closely linked to the Netherlands, where many country estates, mostly from the 18th century, have one. A well-known example is the wall at Slot Zuylen near Utrecht, about 120 metres long and built in the mid-18th century, where figs still grow. Dutch engineers draining the Fens are thought to have brought the idea to England, and Suffolk has more examples than any other county. Thomas Jefferson also used serpentine walls at the University of Virginia.
The structural advantage is real: a straight wall half a brick thick is slender and easily blown over unless it has piers or buttresses every few metres. The alternating curves act like a series of arches bracing each other, so a half-brick crinkle-crankle wall stays stable without piers. Although the wall is longer, it can use fewer bricks overall than a thicker straight wall.
Application
- Orientation: run the wall roughly east-west so the bays on the south side get the most sun.
- Foundations: use a continuous footing below frost depth that follows the curve.
- Coping: finish with a coping or brick-on-edge course that sheds water, or the brickwork will saturate and suffer frost damage.
- Repairs: many examples are listed; use a soft lime mortar to match the old bricks and check listed building consent before work.
- Common mistake: making the wave too shallow. The flatter the curve, the less stability you gain, so have the geometry and height of a new wall checked by a structural engineer.
Related terms
- Half-brick wall
- Buttress
- Wall pier
- Wall coping
- Bond pattern
- Bricklaying
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