The Great Trees of Lewisham

A guest log post by Edinam Edem-Jordjie

Edinam is a New Museum School Trainee at the National Trust, based within the London Creative Team & Garden and Outdoors Team at Morden Hall Park.

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2020 marked 125 years since the founding of the National Trust and to commemorate it, they launched a year long urban tree planting programme planting 125 trees across Lewisham in areas with low tree coverage and the creation of a new garden at Sayes Court Park, a site with a significant historical link to the founding of the National Trust.

The Trust’s founders cared deeply about the conditions that people living in cities had to endure and they believed that a happy and healthy life should include easy access to open space and greenery. This is why for the anniversary, we wanted to deliver a project that honours our founders beliefs and recognises the fundamental importance of easy local access to high quality nature rich green space for people’s wellbeing.

Trees form an important part this. As the biggest plants on the planet, they are essential to our survival. They give us oxygen which helps us breathe, store carbon that’s harmful, stabilise the soil from which our sources of nourishment grow and give life to the world’s wildlife.

Not only are trees essential to our survival but as the longest surviving plant species on earth, they give us a link between the past, present and future. To celebrate the past and to welcome the future, we would like to invite you to join us on a virtual journey to explore the great trees of Lewisham – the oldest surviving trees in the borough. Having stood tall for hundreds of years, these trees are living records of our history.

Find out more about these historic trees and the work that we’re doing today to honour this history and to ensure that these trees and many more remain in the borough for years to come.

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The Honor Oak, atop One Tree Hill - one of the Great Trees of Lewisham (Pic: Paul Wood)

2020 marked 400 years since the birth of the famous diarist and horticulture pioneer John Evelyn. First published in 1662 as a paper, his book ‘Sylva - A Discourse of Forest Trees, and the Propagation of Timber in his Majesty's Dominion’ is recognised as the first comprehensive study of UK trees and as one of the most influential texts on trees ever published.

Intended for an audience of wealthy landowners, he called for the planting of more trees in order to replenish the nation's depleted forests, citing their benefits to the environment and on our wellbeing. Highly successful, the book went to on influence successive campaigns to plant more trees and the eventual founding of the UK Forestry Commission in 1919.

Evelyn’s book was also a great influence on Octavia Hill, Sir Robert Hunter and Hardwicke Rawnsley who came together in an attempt to look after and manage Sayes Court Estate, Evelyn’s private residence and garden in Deptford, for the benefit of the public. Although they were ultimately unable to protect the site, their failure was one of the sparks that led to the formation of the National Trust.

125 years ago, the National Trust was founded with the aim of preserving special and open places for the benefit of the nation. Our founders cared deeply about the living conditions within cities, believing that a happy and healthy life should include easy access to green open space and clean air. It’s thanks to John Evelyn that we know how trees form an important part of this. Not only do they provide the ingredients necessary for our survival, but they are also a source of beauty and interest, giving city-dwellers a place to relax, away from the stresses and strains of everyday life.

This is why to commemorate the 125th anniversary of the National Trust and 400 years since John Evelyn ‘s birth, the National Trust will be returning to Sayes Court to launch a new greening initiative in partnership with Lewisham council and local park user groups. This partnership will see part of Sayes Court park revamped into a garden with benches for the local residents as well as 125 trees planted across the borough.

The Lewisham urban tree planting programme is just one of many ways we aim to improve access to nature and greenery in urban areas. Trees will be planted in parks, streets near schools and amenity greenspaces in housing estates, in collaboration with park user groups, residents, Lewisham Council’s Environment team and National Trust specialists.

The legacy of John Evelyn and the National Trust reminds us why it’s important that trees and greenspaces survive at the heart of our communities. Working to preserve and enhance green spaces now and for the future allows us to continue that legacy.

So, to honour the legacy, I would like to highlight some great trees that have stood the test of time and have remained in the borough despite the rapid urbanisation that’s occurred around them. Each loved and with an interesting history attached to it, these trees serve as an example of how trees can adapt and be incorporated into our changing environments. Exactly what we hope to achieve through the tree planting programme.

So, without further ado, I present to you the Great Trees of Lewisham!

The Sayes Court Mulberry Tree (Morus nigra)

First established by famous diarist John Evelyn in 1651 as part of his private residence, Sayes Court Garden in Deptford was one of the most celebrated and influential gardens of the 17th century. Much of the garden was on a grand scale with features such as an orchard filled with 300 fruit trees and an ornamental lake with an island.

Today with the garden now almost completely buried beneath Sayes Court Park and neighbouring Convoys Wharf, an ancient black mulberry tree that stands in the middle of the 1-acre park is believed to be the last surviving remnant of the once celebrated manor house and garden in Deptford.

How the tree got there is unclear as there are two conflicting accounts. A stone erected by Lewisham Council states that the tree was planted by Tsar Peter the Great in 1698 during his stay at the estate as an apology for significantly damaging the garden through his drunken behaviour.

However, others believe that the bush was planted by Evelyn himself, or even predates his possession of the land. This is because mulberry trees were first brought into cultivation in the UK by King James I in the 16th century. He sent out black mulberries to several landowners in London, hoping they would attract silkworms and start a British silk industry.

Whatever the origin of the tree is, it stands as a reminder of the green heritage of the city, with the garden being one of the sparks that led to the formation of the National Trust.

Today, though in very poor condition, the tree can be viewed in the middle of the park, clearly recognisable by the black fence surrounding it and still continues to bear fruit.

The Lewisham Elm (Ulmus laevis)

Situated in Ladywell Fields, this large Elm is said to be one of the few remaining mature elm trees in London since the onset of the Dutch Elm Disease pandemic, which effects all species of elm native to Europe and North America.

In the UK, this disease first appeared in the 1960’s and killed 20 million elm trees within 10 years – accounting for approximately 75% of the species. Since then the pandemic continued resulting in surviving mature elms being relatively rare. This particular cultivar is considered to be the only known British specimen, making its survival particularly notable.

Some experts think that tree has been misidentified and that it is actually a Ulmus x laevis ‘European White Elm’. The debate is still up in the air, with the information board erected in front of the tree by Lewisham Council still bearing the name Ulmus × hollandica 'Klemmer'. However even as a European White Elm, the tree’s survival is no less remarkable as due to the pandemic it is rare to see any Elm over the age of twenty, especially one that isn’t native to the UK.

After the Great Storm of 1987, this tree was one of 41 selected by the general public for the ‘Great Trees of London’. It has a green plaque next to it stating this fact. The tree can be viewed near the park’s main entrance near the park’s entrance on Malyons Road.

New Cross Gate Giant Redwood (Sequoiadendron giganteum)

Precariously towering over platform 1 at New Cross Gate Station in Deptford, this Giant Redwood tree is something of a landmark for the local community. How the tree got to this spot is a mystery, but we do know that the tree is less than 170 years old. This is because the giant redwood was first brought into cultivation in Britain in 1853 by the horticulturist Patrick Matthew of Perthshire. He used seeds sent by his botanist son John in California.

Its subsequent spread across the country can be attributed to the plant hunter William Lobb who upon hearing about giant trees on a trip to California in 1853, set about collecting seeds, shoots and specimens. Taking advantage of the market for ‘unique’ trees in England, he returned in 1854 and sold them all over the country, with the tree quickly becoming a status symbol for the upper class.

With all this in mind, the location of the New Cross Giant Redwood makes it even more a mystery especially when you consider that New Cross Gate station has existed in that spot since 1849, most likely predating the tree’s existence. Whatever the reason, its precarious location makes it worthy of protection, especially with the threat of the Bakerloo Line extension and/or the neighbouring derelict plot being built on.

For now, despite its location, the tree still stands tall at a height well over 13 meters, watching over many of the things that surround it.

One Tree Hill’s ‘Oak of Honor’ (Quercus robur)

Standing over 300 feet high, One Tree Hill is often referred to as the defining feature of Honor Oak, a suburban area that stretches across the London boroughs of Southwark and Lewisham. Once part of the much larger Great North Wood that stretched from Deptford to Croydon and now a public park, the name ‘One Tree Hill’ may at first seem misleading as there are hundreds of trees on the hill.

However, the name of the park and that of the surrounding area ‘Honor Oak’ is derived from a tree that sits at the summit of the hill. Officially titled the ‘Oak of Honor, the tree once marked the southern boundary of land belonging to the Norman Honour of Gloucester. Note, ‘Honor’ is an archaic spelling as the use of ‘our’ endings in British English was only formally standardised in the 16th century. Beforehand, ‘or’ endings was commonly used for words of Latin origin and ‘our’ endings for words of French origin.

The current tree is actually the third to bear the name. The history and fate of the original oak is unknown, but it is believed to have been present until at least the 17th century. This is because according to Daniel Lyson’s 'Environs of London' and E Hasted’s 'History of Kent', Queen Elizabeth I rested under the oak while on her way to a parade on May Day, 1602. The second tree was planted sometime in the 18th century but was struck by lightning in the 1880s leaving just a stump.

The third and current tree was planted in 1905 to mark Camberwell Council purchasing the site to keep it open to the public. This was prompted by a series of local protests, some which lasted for years and was said to have drawn around 10,000 demonstrators on some days, over plans to build a private golf course over the hill.