Haha
A ha-ha is a turfed ditch with one sloped side, and one vertical side that is faced with a masonry retaining wall. A ha-ha is a feature used in landscape garden design to keep grazing livestock out of a garden while providing an uninterrupted view from within.
Before mechanical lawnmowers, a common way to keep large areas of grassland trimmed was to allow livestock, usually sheep, to graze the grass. A ha-ha prevented grazing animals on large estates from gaining access to the lawn and gardens adjoining the house, giving a continuous vista to create the illusion that the garden and landscape were one and undivided.[1][2][3] The name "ha-ha" was given to the feature because, when walking towards it from the garden, it would only become apparent to the observer when close to it.
Contents [hide]
1 Origins
2 Examples
2.1 In fiction
3 See also
4 References
Origins[edit source | editbeta]
Ha-ha at the Hameau de la Reine, Versailles.
The ha-ha fit well with Chinese gardening ideas of concealing barriers with nature, but its European origins predate the European discovery of Chinese gardening.[4]
The primary view is from the right and the barrier created by the ha-ha becomes invisible from that direction and sometimes from both directions, unless close to the ditch
The basic design of sunken ditches is of ancient origin, being a feature of deer parks in England. The deer-leap or saltatorium consisted of a ditch with one steep side surmounted by a pale (fence) or hedge, which allowed deer to enter the park but not to leave. Since the time of the Norman conquest of England the right to construct a deer-leap was granted by the king, with reservations made as to the depth of the foss or ditch and the height of the pale or hedge.[5] On Dartmoor the deer-leap was known as a "leapyeat".[6]
The concept of the ha-ha is of French origin, with the term being attested in toponyms in New France from 1686 (as seen in modern times in Saint-Louis-du-Ha! Ha!), and
Before mechanical lawnmowers, a common way to keep large areas of grassland trimmed was to allow livestock, usually sheep, to graze the grass. A ha-ha prevented grazing animals on large estates from gaining access to the lawn and gardens adjoining the house, giving a continuous vista to create the illusion that the garden and landscape were one and undivided.[1][2][3] The name "ha-ha" was given to the feature because, when walking towards it from the garden, it would only become apparent to the observer when close to it.
Contents [hide]
1 Origins
2 Examples
2.1 In fiction
3 See also
4 References
Origins[edit source | editbeta]
Ha-ha at the Hameau de la Reine, Versailles.
The ha-ha fit well with Chinese gardening ideas of concealing barriers with nature, but its European origins predate the European discovery of Chinese gardening.[4]
The primary view is from the right and the barrier created by the ha-ha becomes invisible from that direction and sometimes from both directions, unless close to the ditch
The basic design of sunken ditches is of ancient origin, being a feature of deer parks in England. The deer-leap or saltatorium consisted of a ditch with one steep side surmounted by a pale (fence) or hedge, which allowed deer to enter the park but not to leave. Since the time of the Norman conquest of England the right to construct a deer-leap was granted by the king, with reservations made as to the depth of the foss or ditch and the height of the pale or hedge.[5] On Dartmoor the deer-leap was known as a "leapyeat".[6]
The concept of the ha-ha is of French origin, with the term being attested in toponyms in New France from 1686 (as seen in modern times in Saint-Louis-du-Ha! Ha!), and
References: Ha-has were also used in North America. Only two remain in Canada, one of which is on the grounds of Nova Scotia 's Uniacke House (1813), a rural estate built by Richard John Uniacke, an Irish-born Attorney-General of Nova Scotia.