These images are of the ha-ha that one of our clients had constructed in the grounds of their mansion house. But what is a ha-ha and why would you want to build one?
What is it?
A ha-ha is simply explained as a hidden wall or ditch. It is a landscape design element that creates a vertical barrier. It is invisible on one side, giving an uninterrupted view across the landscape.
The origin of the strange name has two possible origins. The first theory is that the name came from the exclamation that people made when they got close enough to the feature to see it, crying out “Ah! Ah!”. The second, less popular theory is that the wall may have been referred to as “ha-hah” as an abbreviation of “half and half” with half a wall and half a ditch.
Why build one?
Before mechanical lawn mowers, grazing sheep kept large areas of grassland trimmed. The ha-ha provided a barrier to the sheep whilst remaining invisible from the house. This gave an impression that the landscape was undivided. The ha-ha feature was popular with the English Landscape Garden designers Charles Bridgeman, William Kent and Capability Brown.
In Australia, ha-has had a more unusual use at Victorian-era lunatic asylums. From the inside, the walls presented a tall face to patients, preventing them from escaping, but also allowed the patients to see the wider landscape. From outside the ha-ha looked low and gave the false impression that the patients were not imprisoned.
How is a ha-ha constructed?
A ha-ha is constructed by digging a deep dry ditch. The inside of the ditch is built up to the level of the surrounding turf with a wall. The outer side slopes steeply upward and levels out at the top with turf.
Where can you find a ha-ha?
Most typically, ha-has are found in the grounds of grand country houses and estates.
Famous historic gardens with ha-has include Stowe, Rousham, Burghley, Petworth and Chirk Castle.
They vary in depth from about 0.6 m (2 ft) at Horton House to 2.7 m (9 ft) at Petworth House. The ha-ha that separates the Royal Artillery Barracks Field from Woolwich Common in London is unusually long and the road that runs alongside it is called Ha-Ha Road.
