Save our trees! Specimens such as Robin Hood’s Oak should be offered the …

Conservationists want new laws introduced to safeguard prominent trees such as Robin Hood’s Sherwood Forest oak
They claim they are ’embodiments of our past’ and have just as much historical value as old listed buildings
Campaign led by Woodland Trust and Country Living magazine is pushing for a similar national register for trees

Ben Spencer for the Daily Mail

Published:
21:25 GMT, 3 October 2014

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Updated:
21:27 GMT, 3 October 2014

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They have survived bulldozers, woodcutters’ axes and, for hundreds of years, the worst the weather can throw at them.

But the remnants of Britain’s ancient forests, which once stretched shore to shore, are fragile – and not officially preserved unless building work is planned around them.

You might expect these natural cathedrals, some more than 1,000 years old, to be defended with the utmost care. But they have little, if any, protection.

Newton’s Apple Tree: Rooted in Sir Isaac Newton’s gardenin Woolsthorpe Manor, Lincolnshire,this tree is claimed to be the one thatinspired his theory of gravity

Llangernyw Yew: At about 5,000 years old, this tree in Conwy, North Wales, is one of the oldest in Britain. It started growing in the Bronze Age, probably beforeStonehenge was built. Until the 1990s an oil drum storing fuel for achurch was kept in its trunk and locals sold key rings cut from its wood

Many harbour history beneath their boughs – the apple tree where Newton devised his theory of gravity, the Sherwood Forest oak said to have sheltered Robin Hood, and others forming local myths and legends. Some mark parish boundaries or host rare wildlife.

Conservationists are calling for the Government to draw up laws to safeguard these trees. The campaign, by the Woodland Trust and Country Living magazine, is demanding a national tree register to protect them against destruction and development.

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Jill Butler, ancient tree specialist at the Woodland Trust, said: ‘We are still coming across enormous oaks that are more than eight metres in girth and estimated to be up to 700 years old.

‘These trees are hugely valuable to us – they are embodiments of our past and features that make our landscape distinctive.

Robin Hood’s Major Oak: Folklore states this oak in Nottinghamshire’s Sherwood Forest sheltered Robin Hood in the 13th century. With a 33ft girth and at more than 1,000 years old,steel props now support its estimated 23-ton weight

Tolpuddle Martyrs’ Tree: Under this sycamore in 1834, Dorset farm workers formed the Friendly Society of Agricultural Labourers, protesting against low wages. They were arrested and deported to Australia, butwere eventually pardoned and later returned to the village

‘By starting a national register, we can really cherish and protect more great specimens.’

Although councils can issue tree preservation orders, they are only usually used as a reactive measure when a tree is threatened by a building project.

A register would run on a model similar to that of listed buildings, pre-empting plans to cut down the trees.

Ankerwycke Yew: This giant tree in Berkshire is thought to be one of the first meeting places of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn in the 1530s.

Before the 1913 Ancient Monuments Consolidation and Amendment Act led to the creation of our listing system, many spectacular country houses were abandoned or demolished.

Now 375,000 buildings are recognised for their architectural or historical value – and a tree register would work in a similar way.

A spokesman for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs said: ‘Ancient woodlands and trees of special interest play an important role in contributing to our landscape and cultural heritage, and we have robust safeguards in place to protect them.’

Fortingfall Yew: Thought to be Scotland’s oldest,this dates from 2,000 to 3,000 years ago. Much of its former 56ft girth,recorded in 1769, has rotted

Dark Hedges: Long before it featured in TV series Game Of Thrones,this corridor of beech trees at Stranocum in County Antrim, Northern Ireland, was a popular walk for courting couples – despite tales that it was haunted.

Ashbrittle Yew: A girth of 40ft makes this 3,000-year-old Somerset yew the UK’s largest. Legend has it the nearby church is built on a druidic circle.