I think the difference in the loop is due to the writer following through to join the r in dredger whereas it just tails out in Dovercourt. Both to my mind would have been written anti-clockwise. If you look at the end of the word and also at scholar below you will see the r written the the same way.
Also bear in mind that, as far as I know,although I could be mistaken in this, stone hedges are a Cornish term and most other parts of England are of a different construction and called dry stone walls.
