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Tree Work on the Downs

Richard Bland 13 Dec 2005
Gordon Milward took Richard round the proposed improvements to the view of the Suspension Bridge that he is carrying out in the near future, in preparation for the Brunel festivities next year. Very large numbers are expected to be attracted to the main event in April 2006, and young self-sown trees in several places now obscure the former clear views of the bridge, and these will be removed.
In particular a line of ash trees close to the Look Out site on Sion Hill, which obscure the view of the bridge from it, will be removed. This will effectively add to the open space immediately to the right of and below the Look Out. In addition a self-sown bay tree in this area will be removed. By the Observatory an Ash and a Turkey oak which obscure the view from that site will be removed, and an ash growing alongside the rock slide. For good measure a Sycamore growing in the boundary wall near the Toilets will be removed- it is breaking the wall up, and two ash trees, one growing horizontally, that are close to the Children’s playground, will be removed.

Annual Report

Report August 2004 to August 2005

Tree Felling

2 mature trees are to be felled on Christchurch Green because of disease. A notice will be put up by the Council explaining why they are being felled. Any replacements will wait until the Downs Ranger has completed his report on planting on the Downs.
Permission has been given for lorries to drive up to the Observatory carrying building materials. Branches of trees which might be hit will be cut back first
The Downs Ranger has advised that the yew hedge of the Mansion House is to be pruned drastically, partly because of complaints that it is encroaching over the pavement. Roy Vaughan will bring the large patches of ivy to the attention of the Downs Ranger

CHIS Guide to Trees in Clifton

Richard Bland
Clifton has a very remarkable inheritance of trees in public parks, communal gardens, and in private gardens. They are considered below in order of their interest, either because of age or rarity, but also by where they occur.

Victoria Square

This very handsome square was opened in 1837 and named after the new Queen. It was planted up at the time, but only the Cedar of Lebanon on lawn and the Cut-leaf Beech flanking the central path, and the Tree of Heaven in the south corner, all with girths of over 4m, probably date from that time. Two most unusual trees on the SE side are the Italian Maple, which flowers in the early Spring, and the Hornbeam, which contains some branches of the Cut-Leaf Hornbeam, and others of the normal form. The aged leaning Black Mulberry may also date well back, as these trees are notorious for collapsing with age. There is a Tulip Tree on the western corner and an old Laburnum on the SW side. Recently there has been a planting by CHIS, of five different unusual oak species on the central pathway, but they have yet to become established. Note the Cork Oak (so called because its bark looks like cork) on the pathway. There is also a Tree of Happiness on the SW side (there was another by the Mulberry but it fell on several cars causing much unhappiness). There are also several bay trees.
Across the road in the hotel gardens, notice the Bean tree and the Strawberry tree.

St Andrew's Churchyard

Apart from the pleached Lime avenue, some of whose individual trees are clearly old, but which is regularly replanted with young trees as older ones decay, there is a huge north American Red Oak on the west side with a girth of almost 3 metres, implying a planting date of around 1900. Also on the west side, there is a magnificent double Cherry, though its days are probably numbered, a fine tall Monterey Cypress, and a magnificent Witch Hazel. On the east side, there is also a great rarity from North Korea: Neolitza sericea, which is in the far corner of the old churchyard by the Bishop's Housee.

Vyvyan Terrace Gardens

This has four original trees, two very large Horse Chestnuts, both around four metres in girth, a Cedar of Lebanon, and a magnificent Weeping Silver Lime (Tilia petiolaris) on the north east side.

Zoo

The Zoo has a very fine collection of rare trees, many of them very recent. It had some very fine trees dating back to its foundation in 1837, but most of these have had to be felled in the last few years. Its Magnolia Kobus is very beautiful in early spring, and visible from outside, and it has an exceptionally fine Turkish Hazel, Dove Tree and a Crategus laciniata, a thorn tree that may be original.

Clifton College

The lime trees around the school do not look that old, but Lime trees grow slowly, and there is a photograph of them as saplings in 1865. They have twice been pollarded, once in about 1920 and again in 1950, which has helped to slow their growth down. On the east side of the close, the school has a very early Dawn Redwood, planted in 1950, and now taller than the limes planted nearly a century earlier. And on College Road, opposite Guthrie Road, there is a Sophora japonoica or Scholar's Tree, planted in 1980 by the headmaster's wife, and doing exceptionally well.

The Downs

There are a number of magnificent and rare trees on the Downs. The triangle outside the Lord Mayor's Mansion House has a very fine Tree of Heaven, a very rare natural variant of the native Oak called the Clustered Oak, as well as a Red Oak and a Pin Oak. There is also a fine Hornbeam that appears as part of the Beech avenue along the Promenade and was probably planted in error. Nearby, on the side of Bridge Valley Road, is a wonderful double-trunked Sycamore, probably self-sown, with a total girth of over six metres, which probably dates back to before 1850. The Mansion House itself has a superb Wellingtonia, probably dating from the original seeds sent to James Veitch and Sons' nurseries in 1853. Further up the Promenade is a very fine Monkey Puzzle tree, which almost certainly dates from the same period, when seeds first arrived. The Downs Grand Avenue contains a Black Walnut, and there are still three Huntingdon Elms dating from 1880. Some of the stunted multi-stemmed Hawthorns on the Downs may date back to the Civil War.

Avon Gorge

Two types of tree (Bristol and Wilmott's Whitebeam) grow naturally here and nowhere else in the world. The blossom is white. They are to be found on the Seawalls Road on the right hand side just as the road loops round to the left back to the edge of the cliffs after the peregrine watch.

Brandon Hill

When the tower was built in 1897 a series of unusual trees was planted. They include the Kentucky Coffee tree, a Black Birch, Caucasian Wing Nut, and Zelkova serrata. There is also a very early Turkey Oak planted in 1867, and a magnificent native Oak with an exceptional spread in the Parks Department enclosure that is certainly 200 years old, and may well be more.

Beech trees

There is a number of magnificent Beech trees which are up to 200 years old. The largest is that in the forecourt of the Merchant Venturers' Hall on the Promenade, and one of similar size stands in Clifton High School. There are others in private gardens in Canynge Road, St Paul's Road etc.

Horse Chestnut

Much the finest is in the grounds of Clifton Hill House, near York Road, and belongs to the University. Its position is extraordinary, as from York Road you view it from half way up. However, it stands above a vertical wall some 20 feet high, created to allow access to new buildings in the 1950s. Its size implies that it is at least 250 years old There is a fine one on Clifton Green, probably the oldest tree on the green, going back to 1850.

Holm Oak

This was a popular tree in Victorian gardens as it is evergreen, and the oldest are in the grounds of Clifton Hill House and Cornwallis House, both dating back to before 1800. They have since spread into the wild, and are a serious threat to the natural wildlife of the Avon Gorge.

Turkey Oak

There is a magnificent specimen where Pembroke Road joins Clifton Park that may be 200 years old.

Luccombe Oak

The Luccombe Oak is a fertile cross between a Turkey Oak and a Holm Oak. It is semi-evergreen, and was widely planted in the 1860s. There is a fine one at the foot of the Mall Gardens on the West Mall side that appears to be from this date.
There is a fascinating tree sculpture hewn out of a dead chestnut.

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