‘Majestic’ oak tree that Charles Darwin may have climbed as a boy will be FELLED to make way for the Shrewsbury bypass – as campaigners say it’s a ‘dark day for the environment’
- The 550-year old oak is believed to have been visited by a young Charles Darwin
- Despite opposition, a six to five vote decided that the tree would be felled
Over 200 years ago, when a young Charles Darwin may have played in its branches, this majestic oak tree was already 300 years old.
Now 550 years old, Darwin’s Oak and eight other ancient trees will be felled to make way for the £80 million ($97.3m) Shrewsbury North West Relief Road (NWRR).
Despite months of opposition, it only took a narrow vote on the Shropshire planning committee to condemn the trees to destruction.
Advocates for the road say it will connect the North and West of the town, reducing congestion and boosting the economy.
However, campaigners and local opposition groups say the move risks devastating an important piece of green space.
The tree, now known as Darwin’s Oak, stands in a ‘green wedge’ of undeveloped land which extends into the town centre.
Not far from Darwin’s childhood home, it is believed that Darwin may have visited the tree during his frequent walks in the Shrewsbury countryside.
With a girth of 23ft (seven metres), the enormous tree would certainly have been almost impossible for the young naturalist to miss.
However, opposition groups say the newly approved NWRR will bisect this green wedge and threaten a number of important ecological sites.
In addition to destroying 2.5 miles (four kilometres) of hedgerows, the road will also be built feet from four local wildlife sites.
The road will pass by an ancient woodland site, Hencott Pool, which is a Site of Special Scientific Interest, and the extremely important Ramsar Wetland.
The Woodland Trust, a forestry conservation group, says that the decision goes against national planning laws that protect ancient trees.
Jack Taylor, lead campaigner for the Woodland Trust, said: ‘Just weeks after the iconic Sycamore Gap tree was lost, we are now faced with the loss of another iconic tree.’
The approval of the road is a ‘dark day for the environment and our natural heritage as it threatens the loss of this living legend, numerous other irreplaceable veteran trees, and will damage nearby ancient woodland,’
Dan Morris, Shropshire Council’s cabinet member of highways, said: ‘I absolutely accept that the NWRR divides opinions, but I’m confident that it will make a huge difference to people, not only within the town, but also in the surrounding villages.’
The council has proposed to plant 345,000 new trees, one for each Shropshire resident, and says that the bypass will have a positive effect on the environment.
In a statement, Shropshire Council said the road will improve air quality by reducing traffic in the town centre and by creating a new network of cycling routes.
However, air quality consultant Mark Broomfield has previously warned that the council has not properly considered the impacts of the road on Hencott Pool which is protected under UK law.
This could lead to a legal challenge being brought against the council and the decision being overturned if it could be shown that the council had not sufficiently assessed the air pollution impact.
Fresh opposition to the decision has already begun to organise, with a petition to overturn the approval gaining almost 5,000 signatures in three days.
Rob McBride, a tree campaigner who launched the petition, told The Guardian: ‘It all ties in with Darwin’s theory of evolution, there’s too many dinosaurs on that committee.
‘It’s a majestic, impressive tree. You can see it straight across the meadow as you come near the River Severn.
‘It’s just a brilliant landmark tree that many people, many residents use … to find solace and to connect with nature.’
The Ancient Tree Forum has strongly objected to the road scheme.
‘on the grounds that it will result in an unacceptable loss of and or deterioration to an ancient tree T58, (the Darwin Oak) at least seven other veteran trees, and many mature and notable trees…. contrary to government policy NPPF para 175c…. Planting even many thousands of young trees is not an adequate substitute.
The news comes shortly after the famous Hadrian’s Wall Gap tree was felled between September 27 and 28. The 300-year-old Sycamore tree was cut down overnight in what the police believe was a deliberate act of vandalism.
Throughout the major cultures of Europe people have held the oak tree in high esteem. To the Greeks, Romans, Celts, Slavs and Teutonic tribes the oak was foremost amongst venerated trees. In each case associated with the supreme god in their pantheon, oak being sacred to Zeus, Jupiter, Dagda, Perun and Thor, respectively. Each of these gods also had dominion over rain, thunder and lightning. It is no coincidence that oak trees are more prone to lightning strikes than many other trees. This is because of the tree’s high water content and the fact that they are frequently the tallest living things in the landscape.
The Druids frequently worshipped and practised their rites in oak groves. The word Druid may derive from a Celtic word meaning “knower of the oak tree”. The Gaelic word for oak is darach and remains in place names such as Glac Daraich (oak hollow/small valley) in Glen Affric.
Mistletoe, probably the Druids’ most potent and magical plant, frequently grew on oak trees. Its presence was believed to indicate the hand of God having placed it there in a lightning strike.
Ancient kings presented themselves as the personifications of these gods. They took on the responsibility not only for success in battle but also the fertility of the land, which relied on rainfall. They wore crowns of oak leaves, as a symbol of the god they represented as kings on Earth. Similarly, successful Roman commanders were presented with crowns of oak leaves during their victory parades. Oak leaves have continued as decorative icons of military prowess to the present day. Oak leaves’ connection with rainfall also survived in more recent folklore. There are a variety of similar rhymes about which tree’s leaves appeared first, such as the Irish saying:
If the oak before the ash,
Then we’ll only have a splash.
If the ash before the oak,
Then we’ll surely have a soak!
The spiritual appreciation of oak did not cease with the advent of Christianity. However, early Christian churches supplanted many oak groves. St. Columba was said to have had a fondness and respect for oak trees and to have been reluctant to fell them. Even so, his early chapel on Iona was constructed of oak from the nearby Mull oakwoods. St. Brendan was divinely inspired to use oak boards instead of traditional hides to cover his coracle. Legend says this small vessel may have carried him to the New World some thousand years before Columbus.
Oak was also favoured for its strength and durability. It was a core part of the distinctive Tudor timbered houses, and artists used its even-grained, honey-coloured beauty for carving and turning. The bark was valued by the leather tanning industry as it contains a lot of tannin. During the Industrial Revolution large amounts were sent from northwest Scotland to Glasgow for this purpose. The bark also yields a brown dye, and oak galls gave the strong black dye from which ink was made. A tonic derived from boiling the bark was used to treat harness sores on horses.
Perhaps because of the oak’s size and presence, much of its folklore concerns specific, individual oak trees. Many parishes used to contain what became known as the Gospel Oak. This was a prominent tree at which part of the Gospel was read out during the Beating of the Bounds ceremonies at Rogantide in spring. In Somerset stand the two very ancient oaks of Gog and Magog. These were named after the last male and female giants to roam Britain. The trees are reputed to be the remnants of an oak-lined processional route up to the nearby Glastonbury Tor. The Major Oak in Sherwood Forest is purported to be the tree where Robin Hood and his Merry Men hatched their plots. It is now a popular tourist attraction although this particular tree probably does not predate the 16th century.
In Leicestershire the Topless Oaks in Bradgate Park were said to have been pollarded as a sign of mourning. This was due to the beheading, in 1554, of Lady Jane Grey who had lived nearby. After the battle of Worcester in 1651 King Charles II hid from the Roundheads in a large oak at Boscobel. In 1660 he instigated the 29th of May as Royal Oak Day to celebrate the restoration of the monarchy.
Children would wear oak leaves (or better still, oak apples) as part of a custom which officially lasted until 1859. In fact the tradition continued well into the twentieth century. Once again the symbol of oak leaves had royal connections. And so it won’t be a surprise which plant was the clan badge of the Royal Clan Stewart.
Tree Weaver 