The natural loss of Ash trees to dieback leads to a new generation of trees at National Trust run Sacred Grove of faith, hope, and reconciliation.
Whipsnade Tree Cathedral in Bedfordshire is a war memorial of trees planted to grow into the form of Liverpool Cathedral, complete with chancel, nave, transepts, chapels, and cloisters designed around the four seasons.
Ash trees, Fraxinus excelsior, made up the cathedral’s cloister walk, but in these days of the Great Ash Dieback, grand old specimens are crumbling dangerously, ready to drop a branch on someone.
So, the Cathedral’s Ash Trees are being retired to the woodchip pile, and replaced with another native, the Wild Service tree, Sorbus torminalis.
To a Medieval peasant, their yearly crop of small fiddly fruit, called Chequers, was something to really look forward to, because it’s both tasty fresh and good for brewing alcohol: the name Chequers possibly has the same Latin root as the modern Spanish word for beer, cervesa.
These days, Wild Service trees are mainly grown for their vibrant Autumn foliage and wildlife value, which is arguably greater than Ash.
Whipsnade Tree Cathedral is described as a place of Faith, Hope, and Reconciliation; all that is true, but it was Grief who did the labour.
When the Cathedral’s founder, Edmund Blyth, saw his young friends killed in the First World War, it is no stretch to imagine that he was animated by grief; so was his initial helper in the project, Albert Bransom, whose 22-year-old son had been killed in France.
In his own words:
“The Tree Cathedral has the shape of a traditional medieval cathedral, but formed of trees. Although it contains beautiful areas, that is not its primary significance, and nor is it a garden.
Edmund Blyth (1898-1969)
It is managed to emphasise the vigour and balance of individual plants, in patterns that create an enclosure for worship and meditation, offering heightened awareness of God’s presence and transcendence.”