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Wellingtonias and
False Acacias Nicholas Peacock March 2024 There have been some very notable gardens in the area including The Wilderness, Box House, Hazelbury Manor, and Rudloe Park Hotel. But these historic gardens had unintended consequences still evident in Box today. There was a huge trend in Victorian times to import exotic plants, shrubs and trees. It was a time of seed collectors and collectors of fauna too. Maybe in part, it was also to see if they were viable here. Wealthy families would buy these seeds or seedlings from the people who were the equivalent of garden centre owners. Also, they were bringing in species such as western hemlock, and douglas fir, for commercial reasons and you will see monkey puzzle trees for amusement. Right: The giant redwood on Doctors Hill probably originated from the gardens of Kingsdown House (courtesy Carol Payne) |
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Giant Redwoods in Box
Wellingtonia trees (giant redwoods or Sequoiadendron giganteum) in this parish originated in the Sierra Nevada, California, where they were first discovered in 1841 and introduced to the UK a decade later by the amazing seed-collector William Lobb, one of the finest but least–known of collectors who gave gardeners some of the most remarkable trees and loveliest plants ever grown.[1] Originally, they were meant to be named Washingtonia after the first president of USA but in England they were called Wellingtonia after the Duke of Wellington. Their imposing size (allegedly the world’s largest living thing) means that their presence in a garden is a statement of importance. This trend to glorify local gardens also influenced the names of local houses The Wilderness and The Hermitage.
Giant redwoods grow just like weeds and their bark is fire-resistant, aiding their survival. The oldest-known tree is reputed to be 3,500 years old. The trees are visible at various locations in the parish including Rudloe Park Hotel, Toast in the Market Place, at Doctors Hill, and at the Northey Arms.
Wellingtonia trees (giant redwoods or Sequoiadendron giganteum) in this parish originated in the Sierra Nevada, California, where they were first discovered in 1841 and introduced to the UK a decade later by the amazing seed-collector William Lobb, one of the finest but least–known of collectors who gave gardeners some of the most remarkable trees and loveliest plants ever grown.[1] Originally, they were meant to be named Washingtonia after the first president of USA but in England they were called Wellingtonia after the Duke of Wellington. Their imposing size (allegedly the world’s largest living thing) means that their presence in a garden is a statement of importance. This trend to glorify local gardens also influenced the names of local houses The Wilderness and The Hermitage.
Giant redwoods grow just like weeds and their bark is fire-resistant, aiding their survival. The oldest-known tree is reputed to be 3,500 years old. The trees are visible at various locations in the parish including Rudloe Park Hotel, Toast in the Market Place, at Doctors Hill, and at the Northey Arms.
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Left: giant redwood at Rudloe Park Hotel and right: At Toast in Market Place (courtesy Carol Payne)
False Acacias
The false acacia (Robinia pseudoacacia or black locust) is a much older import into Britain, first discovered in the Kentucky/ Tennessee areas of USA in the early seventeenth century, when it was used for house building and firewood. The “Old Lion” tree in Kew Gardens originated from that planted in 1762 by the mother of George III. The species was named false acacia because the leaves look like acacias, although they are a different species. The name black locust derives from the the seed pod of the tree, which is said to resemble a grasshopper.
They are a popular tree for gardens and parks in England because of their cascading white flowers in late spring, which make a fine ornamental display. They also give a honey smell, welcoming to people after winter. The wood of the black locust was often used for shipbuilding before iron ships and has one of the highest Janka hardness scores of American tree species, and has a thermal value equivalent to anthracite.
The false acacia (Robinia pseudoacacia or black locust) is a much older import into Britain, first discovered in the Kentucky/ Tennessee areas of USA in the early seventeenth century, when it was used for house building and firewood. The “Old Lion” tree in Kew Gardens originated from that planted in 1762 by the mother of George III. The species was named false acacia because the leaves look like acacias, although they are a different species. The name black locust derives from the the seed pod of the tree, which is said to resemble a grasshopper.
They are a popular tree for gardens and parks in England because of their cascading white flowers in late spring, which make a fine ornamental display. They also give a honey smell, welcoming to people after winter. The wood of the black locust was often used for shipbuilding before iron ships and has one of the highest Janka hardness scores of American tree species, and has a thermal value equivalent to anthracite.
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False acacia trees in Box Churchyard, including leaves and seed pods (courtesy Carol Payne)
The black locust in The Hermitage is very old but it has succumbed to the sulphur polypore (Laetiporus sulphuraeus) and unfortunately died. The locusts that might have resulted from that original tree appear to have spread to The Slope, to Box House, and to Box churchyard where one popped up in the year 2020. There is also one in the spinney by the Middlehill Tunnel, although I don't know how that got there under the river. I have seen several black locust trees growing a hundred metres from the Northey Arms on the way to Bath. There were also a few on the Wadswick Common, beside the entrance to Hazelbury Manor. There are plenty more individual examples in the village. The species can reproduce from root suckers which encourages local clumping in areas which have abundant sunlight.
Edwin Garland working with staff at Box House in the 1930s (courtesy Simone Fish and Genevieve Horne)
Historic Box Gardens
In the late Victorian period, Box residents competed to have speciality gardens but few of these contained redwoods or black locusts. The significance of local gardens is borne out by the number of names we have of the head gardeners cultivating on behalf of their owners. We know the names of the gardeners at Box House (Edwin Garland), Rudloe Park Hotel (Henry Hazell and later Henry Oatley Woodman), Middlehill House and Ashley House (both Isaac Southard), and The Wilderness (William Batterbury and later David Johnson). These garden employees were cultivating grounds for the wealthy owners but they had no knowledge that their work would reflect centuries later in areas throughout Box. The garden of The Wilderness still has banana plants growing there.
In the late Victorian period, Box residents competed to have speciality gardens but few of these contained redwoods or black locusts. The significance of local gardens is borne out by the number of names we have of the head gardeners cultivating on behalf of their owners. We know the names of the gardeners at Box House (Edwin Garland), Rudloe Park Hotel (Henry Hazell and later Henry Oatley Woodman), Middlehill House and Ashley House (both Isaac Southard), and The Wilderness (William Batterbury and later David Johnson). These garden employees were cultivating grounds for the wealthy owners but they had no knowledge that their work would reflect centuries later in areas throughout Box. The garden of The Wilderness still has banana plants growing there.
Gardens in The Wilderness (courtesy Hugh Sawyer)
In addition to these landscape gardeners, there have also been horticulturalist experts living in the parish fover the years. These include the late Peter Thoday who was of national fame through his 1980s television series The Victorian Kitchen Garden and well-known in the village for helping many to research and record local horticultural works.
In the 1893 Isaac Southard won the National Chrysanthenum Society Bath centenary medal for coming first in show for the fourth year in succession. Isaac worked for William Jeffery Brown, wealthy heir to yeomen farmers of the same name, who lived at Middlehill House.
In the 1893 Isaac Southard won the National Chrysanthenum Society Bath centenary medal for coming first in show for the fourth year in succession. Isaac worked for William Jeffery Brown, wealthy heir to yeomen farmers of the same name, who lived at Middlehill House.
188 blooms in Isaac's chrysanthemum display (courtesy Rachel Keegan and Jan Tapscott)
Giant redwoods are declining significantly and are listed as an endangered species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. In some countries individual specimens have been given names of important local people – how about the “Robert Newman Pictor” for the largest at Rudloe Park Hotel, and the “Henry Crawford MacBryan” for the specimen on Doctors Hill?
Reference
[1] For more details about the story of the remarkable Lobb brothers, please see William Lobb - Wikipedia
[1] For more details about the story of the remarkable Lobb brothers, please see William Lobb - Wikipedia