The Great Oaks of Essex Parks and Other Trees
efficiency; it is difficult to manoeuvre bulky machinery around them and huge pollard limbs can
damage tractor cabs. They also tend to shade surrounding crops.
The ancient oaks of medieval Terling Park (in existence by 1230) are visible from the road from
Terling Hall Farm to Terling Village (centred on TL 770143). These old trees, some with girths
over 20ft, now sit in cultivated farmland. Like many trees in such a situation, they are not prospering,
many have significant die-back and some arc completely dead. Oak die-back has been known in
Britain since the 1970s; its causes are uncertain, but it seems likely that something is affecting the
trees mycorrhizal fungi, inhibiting their ability to protect the root system of the tree, possibly
climate (ie drought, or excessive winter rainfall) is involved, but other factors could be excessive
nitrogen in the environment or even a cocktail of chemicals leaching through the soil horizon to
affect the mycorrhizas.
Recent storms, such as those in 1987 and 1990, have taken their toll on Essex parkland trees. Some
trees, such as Beech with their shallow root-plates, are particularly v ulnerable, more so if they are
top-heavy pollards. Storms are nothing new to Essex; in March 1240 the Sheriff of Essex was
ordered to put the King's houses at Havering into repair after being partly fallen and partly damaged
by wind and tempest. Lord Braybrooke writing in 1836 "During the tremendous gale which occurred
on the 31" of August 1833. and lasted twelve hours, upwards of five hundred and forty trees were
blown down upon the Audley End Estate".
Perhaps I should mention here the field of pollard oaks at Mundon Hall, near Maldon. Depicted on
the Chapman and Andre map of 1777 and surveyed by Shenstone in the late 19th century, there were
50 oaks recorded here in a small field. Apparently not strictly speaking a park, but more akin to the
fields of pollard trees grow ing on the Breckland Edge, such as that at Risby in Suffolk. I visited the
site in July 2003 and found just 28 trees, 25 of which were dead with 3 moribund, but producing
small amounts of leaf. I would guess that cattle pastured beneath the trees have been overstocked
and de-barked all the trees (the trees appear as white, barkless ghosts in full sunlight). It is one of
the most extraordinary veteran tree sights in Essex, but the eventual loss of these pollard trees to
future generations much saddens me.
Oak in Writtle Park 1894
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Essex Parks: Section 1 - Parks in Essex