Why “Mudwall”?
We are often asked about the origins of the vineyard’s name, Mudwall.
When we bought the farm in 2019, there was a treasure trove of documents about the history of the place. It turns out the land where the vineyard now sits was originally called Mudwall, and we have a lease from Georgian times when a lady called Elizabeth Scott was leasing it out to a local farmer. The Mudwall itself was probably a boundary wall round the piece of land.
It turns out social climbing is not restricted to this century. We have a second lease about a hundred years later for the same piece of land, but by this time the name had been upgraded to Mud Hall.
And, a further hundred years on, the name that we were given when we bought this land, was the even posher Mount Hall. We liked the original name so have stuck with that because it fits with the sustainable way we try to create wine.
While the idea of using a mud or “clay lump” wall originated from ancient Mesopotamia, they only started being created in the UK from the late 18th century, really as a tax dodge because bricks were being taxed to pay for the war against the revolutionaries in the US. So, our Mudwall was new technology when it gave its name to the farmland.
But what we like is that they were also the green invention of their time. They would be dug from the local land and so required no ovens to bake or other energy (unlike bricks). They were often covered with lime wash – meaning they would then have absorbed carbon dioxide. They were great insulation keeping buildings warm in winter and cool in summer, and they made great homes for bees etc.
Nowadays, our Kent clay top layer provides a great bed for our vines. It is naturally rich in nitrogen, potassium and phosphorus, and because it retains some water, it keeps the vine root at a cool and consistent temperature. This means only minimal additions are needed in wine-making.
How to make a Mudwall
Historic England report that a John Curtis (from Norfolk) wrote a recipe for the perfect Mudwall as follows in 1849:
“three loads of soft tender clay, as much water as the mixture will absorb, one or two horses for treading, as much sort old straw as can properly be mixed with it and more water as required”
