welsh historic gardens trust ~ ymddiriedolaeth gerddi hanesyddol cymru whgt bulletin lxii march 2012 Troy House from the Wye Bridge by I Smith c.1680-90 shows a double avenue of trees. The collection of the Duke of Beaufort. Tree Avenues by Glynis Shaw Last August the National Trust began to survey its near Newport in South Wales is an example of an tree avenues. The National Trust has some 500 tree avenue in the forest environment. avenues in their care. However, many tree avenues Later, lines of trees were deliberately planted to are outside the care of the NT and it might be frame a house and to extend the formal design of interesting to survey such tree avenues in Wales. the garden into the parkland. These avenues Avenues are among the very oldest of landscape became extremely important in the structure of features with avenues of stone animals lining the early landscape design. Troy House near Mon- way to the Ming emperor’s tombs north of Beijing. In mouth, had a new front built in the late seven- Egypt a two mile avenue of ram headed sphinxes of teenth century for Charles Somerset, Marquis of the god Amun protecting a figure of Ramses II Worcester, son of Henry the First Duke of Beau- between its paws, links Luxor to the Karnak temple. fort. Troy was once framed by a double avenue In Britain the Spanish Chestnut avenue at Croft planted between the 1660s and 1706. The paint- Castle, Herefordshire, was planted with seeds from ing by J. Smith c.1720 shows the avenue leading the Armada wrecks in 1592 making it one of the old- from the main entrance of the house to the conflu- est tree avenues in Britain. ence of the River Wye and the River Mon - sadly The earliest tree avenues were formed by marking none of these trees survive today. a way through the forest for riding. An avenue of tall The term ‘avenue’ was probably introduced to trees in the ancient woodland at Wentwood Forest England by the diarist John Evelyn. As a keen 1 patron hrh the prince of wales No. LXII charity registration no. 1023293 welsh historic gardens trust ~ ymddiriedolaeth gerddi hanesyddol cymru gardener Evelyn was very impressed by the rows “formerly a flat, naked piece of Ground, now of lime trees he saw planted in Holland and the planted with sweete rows of limetrees, and the alles of the new landscaping in France where Canale for Water neere perfected” 2 radial rides within sight of the house offered a After William and Mary came to the throne the sense of safety. The alles led to specific garden Dutch style became fashionable and avenues features such as a fountain or statue reflecting the were planted all over the country leading to the taste and wealth of the owner. development of tree nurseries such as Brompton In 1664 Evelyn published ‘Sylva’1 (reprinted 3 Park in London. Evelyn advocated self-sufficiency times by 1706) advocating the planting of trees. At of this trade as the majority of park trees were Sayes Court, Deptford Evelyn developed a garden imported from Holland to meet the demand. from the surrounding orchards and pasture where Deer parks shown on the John Speed maps as he planted the first double avenue of lime trees enclosures apart from the house were gradually in England. Sayes Court became one of the most turned into parkland surrounding the house con- influential landscapes of its day, visited by the King nected by avenues. The avenues led the eye to and Samuel Pepys. the extremes of the property, extending the views. The avenues planted in the 17th and 18th century King Charles developed the Long Walk from 1680- typically radiate from the house connecting it with 85 by connecting the castle to Windsor forest the wider landscape. Such avenues and the geo- creating a 2.65 mile double avenue. The original metrical plantations of trees reflected the influence planting comprised 1,652 elm trees. Queen Anne of André Le Nôtre who established the French added the central carriage way in 1710. This has style during the reign of Louis XIV. since been replanted with horse chestnut and Lon- King Charles II had seen the new French gardens don plane trees. during his exile and introduced a huge formal Many lime avenues were planted in the 17th and scheme at St. James Park, London in 1661 de- 18th centuries. The rarer large leafed lime Tilia signed by the French designer André Mollet. Son platyphyllos is native to the Wye valley and S. of Claude Mollet (the first gardener to three French Yorkshire and the small leafed lime Tilia cordata kings), André published Le Jardin Plaisir (1651) in native to England and Wales. These crossed give which the ornamental function of the garden was the naturally occurring hybrid the Common lime, more important than any utilitarian consideration. Tilia x europaea. This, the tallest broad leaved tree His scheme, dominated by a canal lined with tree in Britain, was widely introduced to parks as an avenues so delighted the king that he then had ornamental feature or in avenues. The double lime Hampton Court also designed in the French style. avenue at Clumber Park in Nottinghamshire is said Evelyn wrote in his journal: to be the longest in Europe at over 2 miles. It was Lime avenue at Soughton Hall planted c.1732 © Glynis Shaw 2 patron hrh the prince of wales No. LXII charity registration no. 1023293 welsh historic gardens trust ~ ymddiriedolaeth gerddi hanesyddol cymru Monkey-puzzle avenue at Hafodunos © Glynis Shaw planted in about 1840 with 1,296 common lime the same time as the development of the long trees. formal canal which is recorded in 1693/94 in a Soughton Hall, Northop, in Flintshire has an letter from Richard Mostyn to Edward Lhuyd. ancient lime avenue planted after 1732 by John Wynnstay has two surviving ancient avenues: Wynn, Bishop of St. Asaph. It is thought to have much of the diagonal avenue running south-east once been a double avenue and planted as a across the park from the Ruabon gate and part decorative feature south of the house when the of the double avenue flanking the entrance drive main approach was from the west. Through mar- north of the house. These avenues are now in riage Soughton was later owned by the Bankes divided ownership and require intelligent manage- family. The celebrated beech avenue at Kingston ment. They include an interesting mix of species: Lacy, Dorset, was planted in 1835 by William John oaks, horse chestnut, sweet chestnut, sycamore Bankes. The 730 trees were a gift to his mother and lime. A recent stables development on the Frances (originally 365 on each side of the 2 mile east of the diagonal avenue has been disastrous, avenue one for each day of the year). Due to years with the horses causing untold damage resulting of neglect and disease these are currently being in significant tree losses. It remains to be seen replaced by hornbeams. whether the Area TPO can protect the remaining An unusual avenue of myrtles as well as avenues trees. of redwoods and oaks can be found at Picton Cas- Avenues continued to be popular in the nineteenth tle near Haverfordwest in the stunning woodland century when many were planted with exotic spe- landscape developed over several generations by cies. The first Monkey-puzzle avenue was planted the Philipps family. at Bicton in 1843-4, under the direction of James Ancient tree avenues are both rare and vulnerable. Veitch the tree expert of the famous Exeter nursery. At Barrington Court last February the remaining James Bateman planted an avenue at Biddulph trees from a 68 horse chestnut avenue were felled Grange, Staffordshire, with alternating Wellingtonia due to bleeding canker, an infection of the bark of and Monkey-puzzle trees. At Hafodunos, Conwy, horse chestnut by the bacterium Pseudomonas there are two notable avenues of Monkey-puzzles. syringae pv aesculi and several species of the These extraordinary features in the Welsh land- fungus-like micro-organism Phytophthora. scape are one of the most significant survivals of After months of campaigning, the Clwyd WHGT the Victorian plantings at Hafodunos which once was delighted when an Area Tree Preservation had over 1,200 indigenous and exotic plants. Order (TPO) was applied to the avenues at Wynn- At Bryngarw Park, Bridgend, the Coed Kensington stay. The Wynnstay entrance avenue is sketched woodland at the north of the park is bordered on on the cover of ‘A Pocket Book of Mapps of De- the west by a beech avenue of 21 trees. These are mesne Land belonging to Sir Watkin Williams said to have been planted in 1837 on the occasion Wynn Baronet 17413. Sir John Wynn, who died in of Queen Victoria’s 21st birthday and coronation. 1719, planted the Wynnstay avenues, probably at Paul Mason, editor of the Clwyd Historian, has 3 patron hrh the prince of wales No. LXII charity registration no. 1023293 welsh historic gardens trust ~ ymddiriedolaeth gerddi hanesyddol cymru researched the remnants of a lime avenue in Middleton had an avenue of trees in Westmin- Gwernymynydd near Mold3. A line of 13 trees are ster Abbey for her wedding to Prince William last all that now remain of the 40 shown on the Tithe year comprising eight 20ft high trees including 2 map belonging to a small estate called Fron Haul hornbeams and 6 field maples, all replanted at which features on the John Evans map of 1795 and Prince Charles’s Highgrove estate.