Heritage trees

We are used to thinking of the built heritage of our towns; Chipping Ongar is particularly important for its concentration of ancient buildings along a historic High Street. However, trees are also part of the living heritage of the district. This may be because they are particularly old, or because they mark some particular event, or it may be because although the individual trees are not particularly old, the hedgerow or woodland that they form part of is.

The landscape framework of the district has its origins in Roman times, if not before. The Romans first created an ordered, hedged landscape. The Saxons created the system of manorial landholding, with its associated commons and began the practices of coppicing and pollarding that still define the nature of many woods. The great forests of Epping and Hainault were pollarded woodland, where the lopping was done above the browsing level of cattle or deer. Other woods, such as the Lambourne Woods near Abridge were coppiced, there ditches, banks and fences or hedges protected the valuable coppice growth from grazing animals.

Because trees can live for many human lifetimes, they link us to famous people or events of the past. The “Dickens Oak” in Chigwell is an ancient tree just around the corner from the Kings Head Public House. Dickens visited Chigwell and portrayed the Kings Head as The Maypole in Barnaby Rudge. Many other trees have particular stories attached to them.

Image shows one of the rare Black Poplar trees at Roydon, nominated as a Heritage Tree of Great Britain.

View The Black Poplar Story...