SWEET CHESTNUT IS BRITAIN’S BIGGEST TREE (IT’s TREE-MENDOUS!)
A giant sweet chestnut believed to be around 1,000 years old has been
officially recognised as the largest living tree on record in Britain.
Proud owner Mike Westphal in whose forty acre wood it grows has a
certificate from The Tree Register of the British Isles to prove it.
Said Mike, who runs the Penshurst Off-Road Circuit Club for mountain bike
enthusiasts in the wood, near Tunbridge Wells, Kent: 'When I first saw it
when I came here four years ago it took my breath away. I always thought
it must be a record-breaker in some way.'
Officials of The Tree Register heard about it and sent one of their
experts to measure the tree’s vital statistics. He found its overall
height was 1O4 feet. Its circumference, measured 18 inches from the
ground, was 51 feet 8 inches and it had a diameter of 16 feet.
'It was apparently coppiced (cut back) around 3OO years ago which led to
seven huge stems growing from the main trunk,' explained Mike. 'It has
long been know locally as the Seven Sisters.
'About 15O years ago the wood belonged to Viscount Hardinge who had been
Governor General of India. In his days he used to throw picnics with
dozens of guests enjoying themselves in the shade underneath it.'
The wood’s other claim to fame is that the tomb of one of the Duke of
Wellington’s favourite horses is in it.
Mike Westphal said it was impossible to estimate how many sweet chestnuts
the giant tree produces each year. 'It must be quite a few tons though,'
he maintained. 'We only roast a
few pounds ourselves. We leave the rest for the squirrels and other
wildlife here to eat or store away for the winter. Our giant tree ensures
that they’re hardly in danger of starving!'
This story was written by Jack Pleasant for a national magazine and based
on an interview with Mike Westphal in his wood which is not far from our
own Ladywood, also in Kent, which too is principally sweet chestnuts
http://www.peacockangel.net/ladywoodpics.htm
