Photograph of Holy Trinity Church, believed to date from between 1875 and 1900, which clearly shows the young horse chestnut tree in the corner of the churchyard
Royston Library
The view along North End, prior to the removal of the tree
Photograph by Kathryn Betts
The view along North End, after removal of the tree
Photograph by Kathryn Betts
The view from the church, prior to the removal of the tree
Photograph by Kathryn Betts
The view from the church, after removal of the tree
Photograph by Kathryn Betts
The view along North End, prior to the removal of the tree
Photograph by Kathryn Betts
The view along North End, after removal of the tree
Photograph by Kathryn Betts
View across North End, after the removal of the tree
Photograph by Kathryn Betts
View across North End, prior to the removal of the tree
Photograph by Kathryn Betts
Cut at about 4m above ground with hollow showing
John Price
Cut at about 4m above ground with hollow showing
John Price
Depth of Hollow at about 4m above ground about 1.6m
John Price
Depth of Hollow at about 4m above ground about 1.6m
John Price
The light area at the top is strong wood. Darker areas are affected by decay.
John Price
300 mm gardening wires pushed into tree stump
Photograph by Kathryn Betts
Screwdrivers pushed in by hand in decayed areas
John Price
Wires in the biggest crack in scan picture
John Price
300 mm gardening wire pushed into a branch
Photograph by Kathryn Betts
Hollow at about 4m above ground
John Price
Cut branch from tree showing decay
Photograph by Kathryn Betts
Hollow above 2m into the core of the tree
John Price
In April 2011 a report was carried out on a horse chestnut tree in the churchyard which was believed to be diseased. The report confirmed this, with the scan showing significant damage to the tree.
Permission was granted for the removal of the tree, thought to be over 100 years old, and this took place on 13th May 2011. A series of “before” and “after” photographs can be seen in the gallery at the top of this page.
Author
Kathryn BettsPage added
04/08/2011
Comments about this page
What great photographs. The tree does bring back some memories. I climbed it many times in the 1940’s after Sunday school, and during the conker season, throwing sticks up to knock down the conkers. On one occasion a stick dropped onto Rev. Clare’s car just as he was coming out of church. Conquest Clare was the vicar and he made a poor attempt at telling us off. He was rather deaf and used a hearing aid which he held up to his ear. Some of the boys took advantage of this and made rude comments when they knew he was not using his hearing aid. He had an old Austin car which he would start using the starting handle and then climb back into the car to drive off, not hearing that the engine had stopped again. This amused us boys. As a point of interest, the tree as shown in the 1875-1900 photograph looks much larger than the 25 year-old chestnut tree in my garden.
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