Celebrating St Giles’ Trees

23 – 30 November marks National Tree Week. A special week chosen by The Tree Council to celebrate trees and raise awareness around their conservation and care.

We are very fortunate in the Parish of Ashtead to have two Churches, accompanying halls and other facilities. St Giles’ Church is of significant historical interest, as a 12th century building with a Churchyard, drive and grounds of approximately 5 acres.

The grounds comprise of the area around the Church, Churchyard, Dell (hall) and drive, and have approximately 200 trees amid the thousands of memorials in the Churchyard. The oldest tree is a yew near the front door of the Church, on the right hand side. It is reputed to be 800 or 900 years old.

There is a wide variety of trees in the Churchyard, apart from the yew. Some of the oldest are Cedars of Lebanon, English Oak and Corsican Pine. We have been informed that one of the Corsican Pines is the second highest Corsican Pine in Europe.

Clearly, the grounds would not be the same without the trees and we therefore manage them in a responsible manner, for safety reasons and for the environment.  We have a tree condition survey approximately every two years with recommended work being carried out to maintain the trees in a safe and good condition.

The trees enhance the area for the many visitors to memorials as well as those who visit to pray or reflect in a peaceful and beautiful environment. We also have deer, foxes, badgers, grass snakes and a wide variety of birds. This is in addition to insect life, which may not be as visible but the trees are good for bees and many other insect varieties.

You are welcome all year round to visit St Giles’ church yard and appreciate the many trees we have. If you would like to read more about the work of The Tree Council then you can visit their website here.