Understanding of the benefits of trees has become more widespread/evidenced over recent years (we have some links on the subject in our Reference section: Benefits of Trees) but we still seem to be losing them at an alarming rate here in Chichester. Sometimes they are well-cared for veterans, which have reached the end of life and, as they grow in an urban setting, have to be managed for the safety of people and property around them. Sometimes they are new trees that die through lack of care. A few trees snap; more find themselves in the way of something that someone wants to do (or declining because of something someone has done); occasionally there's vandalism or a driver who collides their car with a tree (thankfully in-town at speeds that avoid significant harm to the driver). Elm trees left to grow to a certain size find themselves infected by Dutch Elm Disease; the progression of ash dieback has taken some ash trees and threatens more (we intend to cover pests and diseases on our Tree Health and Biosecurity webpage).

We cannot hope to document here all the trees that we have lost, but we can remember some of them and use them to inspire caring for the trees of our future, whether these are trees already in our landscape or yet to be planted and establish. If you have a story of a tree you loved that is no longer there, please do drop us a line/send us some photos and we'll try to feature it here.

Note: links to Google streetview are used below for context, where this imagery exists for the living tree. It enables one to scroll through to see the trees at different dates, their locations, and the spaces around them.

Beech tree seen (centre) over the city wall from Market Avenue on Google streetview in May 2022 and the stump remaining following its failure on the night of 31st October 2022 and the tree works undertaken on behalf of Chichester District Council to make it safe. The tree was one of the first to be recorded in Chichester on the Ancient Tree Inventory (by Owen Johnson, Ancient Tree Hunt Project (HLF)) and remains as TT15 on our city centre Tree Trail (access on the Walls Walk from South Pallant car park). Its loss has left a huge gap in the tree canopy here.

With thanks to Andrew Berriman for permission to reproduce the following article he wrote for the Chichester Observer in early November 2022:

"Death of a Beech Tree on Hallowe’en Night

"One of the best-loved trees in Chichester fell victim to the stormy weather on Hallowe’en Night at about 1.20am. Half of the magnificent beech tree split away in the high winds, and fell alongside the City Wall in Market Avenue. The remaining half had to be cut down, with the trunk now little more than a stump.

"The huge beech tree had stood on earth which had originally formed the internal sloping bank of the Roman city Wall. When first planted it would have formed part of the garden boundary of Cawley Priory, which once had been owned by the family whose most famous, or infamous, son was the regicide M.P. William Cawley. It was he, of course, who had signed King Charles’ death warrant in 1649. In more recent times, this garden became the Cawley Priory car park.

"It is notoriously difficult to date trees accurately, but this tree had stood there for well over 200 years, maybe a good deal longer. Its total girth around its base made it by far the largest of any tree in Chichester. This may be because it had been pollarded so that it had a strong trunk. Pollarded trees have their crown cut off at about six foot above the ground, to encourage new growth, which cannot be eaten by deer, as they are above the browse line.   

"For some years the tree has grown patches of plate fungi, which is a sign of incipient decay. However, although the tree may have been experiencing some stress, during this summer of 2022 and despite the prolonged drought, its leaf canopy of soft, pale green foliage has been simply lovely, a picture of health. Perhaps it was a final burst, a swansong for this majestic tree which may have known that its end was nigh. This does happen with trees.

"It is fortunate, though very poignant, that a photograph of the tree’s lower girth appears on page 134 of Andrew Berriman’s recently published book, ‘In Search of Chichester’ (£15), which can be purchased from Kim’s Bookshop in South Street. In chapter 39 Andrew writes about his favourite four Chichester trees within the City Walls, one of which was this very beech, which sadly is no more.

"Andrew explained that ‘The native beech is the dominant tree of the chalky South Downs. Despite its great height, it can root very shallowly in just a few inches of soil, above the deep chalk. This gives it a great advantage over more deeply-rooted species of tree, but this also explains why so many beech trees fell during the Great Storm of 1987. A friend of mine whose house overlooks this beech has collected and planted some of its seeds, so that the tree will not be wholly lost to us. With luck these seeds will take root, and bring pleasure in future centuries to generations of Cicestrians yet unborn. Let’s hope so.’"