supplied in September by local hops. local by September in supplied and Lees Court. Lees and Soanes. House and stables are now private flats. private now are stables and House Soanes.

At nearby Selling, there is still a working , house, oast working a still is there Selling, nearby At from the Blean wood complex, to the valley, plateau plateau valley, the to complex, wood Blean the from early 20th century. The stable block is by Sir John John Sir by is block stable The century. 20th early

gardens have not disappeared from the landscape. landscape. the from disappeared not have gardens spectacular views of the surrounding countryside, countryside, surrounding the of views spectacular to Inigo Jones. It was rebuilt following a fire in the the in fire a following rebuilt was It Jones. Inigo to

industry. Although greatly reduced in number, hop hop number, in reduced greatly Although industry. Whitehall. Today, a pulpit on the adjacent hill, affords affords hill, adjacent the on pulpit a Today, Whitehall. grade 1 listed classical building; it has been attributed attributed been has it building; classical listed 1 grade

were used for drying hops for the local brewing brewing local the for hops drying for used were telegraph, used to send messages from Deal to to Deal from messages send to used telegraph, Lees Court was built in 1654 for Sir George Sondes. A A Sondes. George Sir for 1654 in built was Court Lees

above the trees at New House Orchard. The oasts oasts The Orchard. House New at trees the above The height was also used for a Napoleonic shutter shutter Napoleonic a for used also was height The

The white cowls of the oast houses can be seen seen be can houses oast the of cowls white The one hill slope for hundreds of years up to the 1900s. 1900s. the to up years of hundreds for slope hill one

determined). A post windmill took advantage of of advantage took windmill post A determined). Oast houses Oast

is also a large earthwork (exact origin yet to be be to yet origin (exact earthwork large a also is

flints, Neolithic pottery to Medieval coins. There There coins. Medieval to pottery Neolithic flints, Group and Countess Sondes. Countess and Group

discoveries across the centuries from Mesolithic Mesolithic from centuries the across discoveries explored in 2013 by the Underground Research Research Underground Kent the by 2013 in explored

sought after location, archaeological digs revealing revealing digs archaeological location, after sought Denehole with a 30ft shaft and chambers, was was chambers, and shaft 30ft a with Denehole

margins of the plain, means that they have been a a been have they that means plain, the of margins edges. On the Lees Court estate a large 17th century century 17th large a estate Court Lees the On edges.

fine heritage trees. Their high vantage point at the the at point vantage high Their trees. heritage fine the , and mostly at field or woodland woodland or field at mostly and Downs, North the

with valuable wooded heathland habitat and many many and habitat heathland wooded valuable with exclusively found in Kent, are located on and around around and on located are Kent, in found exclusively

from gravel and sand, are unusual in this chalk area, area, chalk this in unusual are sand, and gravel from of improving it for agriculture. Deneholes, almost almost Deneholes, agriculture. for it improving of

leading into Perry Woods. The two hills, formed formed hills, two The Woods. Perry into leading chalk from depth to be spread on fields as a way way a as fields on spread be to depth from chalk

For further walks, cross Selling Valley on footpaths footpaths on Valley Selling cross walks, further For been used to excavate purer purer excavate to used been

Perry Woods Perry They are thought to have have to thought are They

Lees Court Lees

within the chalk bedrock. bedrock. chalk the within

a large extraction chamber chamber extraction large a

brewing process. All could be conveyed by boat. by conveyed be could All process. brewing

orchards and prominent specimen trees. specimen prominent and orchards

narrow shaft opening into into opening shaft narrow

for gunpowder and natural springs and hops for the the for hops and springs natural and gunpowder for

radiating from the house. There are also traditional traditional also are There house. the from radiating

chalkwells) comprise a a comprise chalkwells)

materials including; clay for bricks, Alder and Willow Willow and Alder bricks, for clay including; materials

Estate are some of the magnificent Lime avenues avenues Lime magnificent the of some are Estate

times, deneholes (and later later (and deneholes times,

and brewery), owing to the readily available raw raw available readily the to owing brewery), and

Fruit Belt’. An enduring feature of the Lees Court Court Lees the of feature enduring An Belt’. Fruit

Dating from late medieval medieval late from Dating bangs and booze” (brick works, gunpowder works works gunpowder works, (brick booze” and bangs

landscape character area known as the ‘ ‘Faversham the as known area character landscape

Deneholes

Federation. It later became known for its “bricks, “bricks, its for known became later It Federation.

Natural Beauty. It is in the the in is It Beauty. Natural

abbey, was for years a member of the Cinque Ports Ports Cinque the of member a years for was abbey,

Downs Area of Outstanding Outstanding of Area Downs

Faversham, the important site of a former royal royal former a of site important the Faversham, attractive flat facing surface. surface. facing flat attractive

Estate within the Kent Kent the within Estate

within the chalk. The flint is knapped to provide an an provide to knapped is flint The chalk. the within

in the great Lees Court Court Lees great the in

wearing silica material found found material silica wearing

The tree trail lies principally principally lies trail tree The

are made from this hard hard this from made are

worship since 15th century, century, 15th since worship

and Faversham. and

Sheldwich, a place of of place a Sheldwich,

market towns of Ashford Ashford of towns market

including St James’s James’s St including

trade route between the the between route trade

Many local churches, churches, local Many

hill”. The village lies on the the on lies village The hill”.

overlies the chalk bedrock. bedrock. chalk the overlies

“dwelling place on a low low a on place “dwelling

The local soil, clay with flint, flint, with clay soil, local The F

Sheldwich means means Sheldwich

Bricks, bangs and booze and bangs Bricks, Flint and churches and Flint irst recorded in 784, 784, in recorded irst

Kent Heritage Trees Project Sheldwich Tree Trail

New House Orchard is a traditional orchard of tall, widely spaced spreading trees, with grazing sheep helping to encourage a rich ground flora.

This leaflet was produced as a legacy of the Kent Heritage Trees Project, a five year project funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund celebrating Kent’s tree heritage. A significant achievement of the project was the recording of over 10,000 heritage trees – trees that are old, wide, rare or have a story to tell. Visit tcv.org.uk/kentheritagetrees to view the tree finds and map.

This is one of a series of leaflets created by volunteers to encourage people of all ages to explore the outdoors, learn about nature and heritage trees and enjoy the Kentish countryside. The Kent Heritage Trees Project was developed and run by The Conservation Volunteers (TCV), a charity that works with Top: a crop of Purple thousands of people across the UK, helping them to discover, Viper’s-Bugloss paints the improve and enjoy their local green spaces and by doing so landscape in vivid colour. A create happier and healthier communities. non-food crop, it is grown www.explorekent.org for its seed oil. Find out more about the continuing work of TCV and how you can become involved, visit www.tcv.org.uk Middle: Selling Valley is being managed to increase Kent Heritage Trees Project is managed by species diversity in this The Conservation Volunteers valuable chalk grassland. Singleton Environment Centre Wesley School Road, Ashford, Bottom: Lime trees Kent TN23 5LW are home to clumps T: 01233 666519 of parasitic Mistletoe. To follow the trail on your phone, scan this QR code Although taking water and nutrients it does not TCV The Community Volunteering Charity kill its host. The berries © 2016. Registered Office: Sedum House, Mallard Way, Doncaster DN4 8DB. Registered Charity in The magnificent ime avenue (261009) and Scotland (SC039302) Registered in England as a Company Limited are spread by birds. by Guarantee No 976410 VAT No. 233 888 239 approaching Lees Court from the north [STT/NB-rb07.16] Newhouse Newhouse Lane Farm

A251 Orchard

Sheldwich

➜

Perry Wood 1Km

Church Plantation Winding denehole Hill Wood School denehole

Lime Avenue

LeesCourt

Sheldwich Lees

The churchyard of It was once part of a much more looking for nectar, especially bees. It setting the tree would produce a 9. Beech St James’s, Sheldwich, is the extensive network of orchards. With produces large winged seeds. dense shading canopy. Here In this Fagus sylvatica changing tastes, lower yields and estate it is nestling with Elder and starting point of this trail. This impressive buttressed Beech health and safety considerations, the From the middle of the avenue, a lower shrubs around it. It is not at first stands near the entrance of the (Donation please for car park users) commercial viability of these orchards footpath leads towards the woodland. glance a statuesque tree having lost footpath by the cricket pitch. It has have declined. Surviving ones like The estates woodland management many limbs. Riven with scars, bore several bracket fungi on its trunk. 1. Yew New House, now a community is focused on conservation, with holes and dead wood, it provides Beech is an important habitat Taxus baccata orchard, (opened for events only) are coppicing, removal of conifers, an amazing habitat and wonderful for many butterflies, including the The churchyard has more than half all the more important. thinning; and encouraging natural openings for bats and owls. There Grizzled Skipper, Duke of Burgundy a dozen large heritage Yew trees, Below the trees, grass managed regeneration. Since 2015, three is also evidence of myriad beetle and White Admiral. several with graves now sheltered by by grazing sheep, supports a diverse disease resistant elm trials have also activity. The nut, known as beechmast, is their protective canopy. ground flora, and associated fauna. been under way. enclosed in softly spiky cups. All parts of the Yew are poisonous Old and decaying limbs are also an Go through the metal cattle gates, passing soaring Lime trees covered except for the fleshy red ‘berry- like’ important habitat for invertebrates Descending through the tress you Pass through the gate onto the road in Mistletoe. The footpath bisects an structures called arils which contain including rare species such as the emerge into a dry, hidden, steep sided opposite the cricket pitch. There are incomplete Lime avenue arriving at individual seeds. Many birds feed Noble Chaffer beetle. Holes bear valley, so typical of this chalk country. many heritage trees in the woods the confluence of both Lime and Oak on them, freely distributing the witness to woodpeckers. Selling Valley’s 200 acres of chalk near to the cricket pitch, bisected by avenues. Lining up directly with the poisonous seed which is passed Next to the orchard, planting downland are managed under Higher footpaths and ripe to be explored. Oak avenue, in the middle of the field, undigested without harm. of new mixed hedging is part of Level Stewardship. Appropriate The commemorative Oak selected is a Corsican Pine. Male and female ‘flowers’ are borne extensive tree planting and woodland management and low stocking rates is just beyond the fine metal village on separate trees. management on the estate. by grazing cattle, has encouraged the 7. Corsican Pine sign, depicting as part of it, the Lime The churchyard is part of the Kent regeneration of the downland. Where Pinus nigra avenues that are so important in this God’s Acre Project, recognising 3. Hawthorn the banks are steepest at the northern Corsican Pine is a plant from the parish. the importance of these areas for Crataegus monogyna end, pyramid orchids can be found. Mediterranean region. It is a large, flora and fauna and social history Heading back towards the Lime evergreen tree that can grow to a 10. Oak through appropriate and sensitive avenue, you pass an important Keeping to the higher path, the route height of 60 metres. It grows quite Quercus sp. management. Hawthorn. In summer partially climbs well trodden paths to the top. fast and is generally quite long lived, On Sheldwich Lees the impressive obscured by nettles, its extensive some reaching 500 years old. Here trees include many planted to the Follow the footpath in the graveyard size suggests a probable boundary 5. Ash with the space and time to grow, it lasting memory of people and events. past the Sondes graves and the war marker. Now riven with cracks and Fraxinus excelsior forms an imposing specimen tree, Trees form an important part of memorial cross, to the gate at the hollows, this thorny tree provides At the top edge of the valley, this one of many in the estate. the social history of a parish. This far end, furthest from the road. The plenty of shelter and nesting places. vast, great limbed Ash, its pale gray beautiful spreading Oak was: footpath follows wide grassland In spring, the Hawthorn, or May tree, bark fissured with age, looks over 8. Oak margins at the woodlands edge, supports a flurry of white blossom, towards the hills of Perry Wood and Quercus robur ‘Planted on 6th May 1935 supporting a diverse flora and fauna. important for bees and other presides over the valley below. This is a short avenue comprising six to commemorate the Silver Go past the woodland track, and pollinating insects. In autumn the rich It has a light and airy canopy, with pairs of Oaks heading towards what Jubilee of George V by J.Harris then take the footpath towards the red haws are eaten by birds and small leaves made up of 5-9 leaflets (pairs is today the main entrance to Lees aged 91, E. Chrisopher aged 511/2, oast houses with the Blean hill rising mammals. and a terminal). The winged fruits, or Court. Its spreading canopy reaches D. Hoad aged 51/2.’ beyond. Cross the open plateau past ‘keys’, produced in late summer and across forming a tunnel of trees. the trees. It is a scene typical of this 4. Common Lime autumn are beloved of Bullfinches The avenue is made up of English Turning up Hunters Way, take the part of Kent with wide open fields, Tilia x europaea and woodpeckers, whilst owls, Oak, distinguished from Sessile former carriage track on your left interspersed with wooded shaws. The Lime Avenue is the most Redstarts and Nuthatches use the Oak, by having acorns on stalks (or before you get to the field. It passes These fields are often vibrant with complete and impressive of a system trees for nesting. Because Ash is so peduncles). Acorn production does through mixed woodland, with several non-food crops such as the bright of avenues that once radiated out long lived, they are known to support not start until trees are at least 40, fine Beech trees standing, fallen, orange Calendulas and purple Viper’s- from Lees Court into what would deadwood specialists such as the with most produced between 80-120 living and dead. bugloss in the summer. have been the surrounding deer park. Lesser Stag Beetle. years. This 18th century avenue lost many The native species of Oak are hosts 2. New House Orchard trees in the 1987 storm, but infilling Pass through a kissing gate. for more than 30 species of gall wasp. This is a traditional Cherry orchard has re-established it as a magnificent It is the larval stage of these insects boasting widely spaced, tall, sight, with more than 68 pairs of 6. Beech that induce the plant to produce spreading trees, harvested by long Limes. Some of the largest are by the Fagus sylvatica abnormal growths, known as galls tapering ladders. Cherry varieties house. The shallow rooted Beech is typical of that enclose the developing larvae. include; Early Rivers, Merton The UK’s tallest broadleaf tree, this landscape, growing on the drier, Historically some types of galls have Bigarreau, Bradbourne Black, Amber it is a natural hybrid between the free-draining chalk soils. Young leaves been ground to produce ink. Texts Heart and Roundel. The trees are not Large-leaved and Small-leaved Limes. are Lime green with silky hairs, which such as Faversham’s own ‘issue’ of long lived, so New House Orchard, The sweet-smelling summer flowers become darker green and lose their the Magna Carta were written using planted in 1946, is a heritage orchard. attract a huge number of insects hairs as they mature. In a woodland Oak gall ink. DID YOU KNOW: The Conservation Volunteers’, Kent Heritage Trees Project, planted 24 commemorative Future Heritage Trees in districts all across Kent as part of the project.