Sure enough, a line of trees starting near what is now The Slades dotted a procession all the way to Abberd Plantation, along a lane known as Abberd Drove in the 1840s: Spitfire Road, today.
During the 1840s, much of the land either side of the drove was owned by Marquis of Lansdowne, Henry Petty Fitzmaurice and used as allotments by many local residents.
Sadly, Abberd Plantation no longer exists, but has been replaced by High Penn Solar Farm.
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| Abberd Drove to Abberd Plantation, lined with trees. |
Now, it was likely that these were the same trees as see in the 1886 OS map, but there was only one way to be sure; and that was to measure one.
So, one cold January day, I set off with my family to measure an oak tree, but how does one measure a tree? And, what did we find?
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| An old drove lined with English oak trees |
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| Red kites: More common than muck? |
The Woodland Trust has an excellent PDF which describes measuring an oak tree to estimate its age. The basic method is using a long piece of string or tape measure, at least 5 metres in length (but longer to be safe), then feeding that string around the girth of the selected tree (ideally between two or more of you) at a height of 1.5 metres. You can then use this measurement to check page two of the PDF to get an estimate of your tree.
As we wandered down the old Abberd Drove, the sky peppered with red kites, that have become even more common than muck around these parts, we picked out a tree we felt had an averaged-sized trunk.
Our tree, the third one from the turn off to the Sands Farm Materials Recovery Facility, gave us a measurement of 4.68 metres (15ft 4inches). This measurement places the tree between 1815, the British victory at the Battle of Waterloo, and 1715, the year of the First Jacobite rebellion in Scotland.
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| My awesome eldest assisting with the measurement. |
This result suggests that this tree, and all the other oaks along this length, are indeed the trees shown on the OS map of 1886.
Two questions remain - and will probably endure: Why were the trees planted, and by who?
Two questions remain - and will probably endure: Why were the trees planted, and by who?
While not every question can be sufficiently answered, it is the exploration into history that is important. Not only was this great time spent with my family, I found it to be a fantastic way to bring nature and local history together.
We'd love to hear about any of your tree exploits in and around Calne. Head over to Calne Tree Planting Partnership Facebook page to share your adventures with us!
