Hands up how many of you know what a 'crinkle-crankle wall' is?

Other names for it are 'serpentine wall' or 'ribbon wall' which is perhaps somewhat more descriptive. But in Eye they refer to it as a crinkle-crankle wall.

It is in fact a wall with curving lines following a serpentine path rather than a straight line.

This layout not only gives the construction added strength but also does away with the need for buttressing.

In some areas this type of wall was used to grow fruit on as the wall would trap the rays of the sun, which would assist the fruit in growing. 

So next time you are having a wall built, astound your neighbours and tell them that you are thinking of building a crinkle-crankle!