Chichester's Commemorative Trees
Imagine planting a commemorative tree, but there being no public record of what you planted, when and why? Family and organisation records may exist; landowner permissions would have been given; there may have been press publicity at the time. But there is no central register of our commemorative tree planting endeavours and we find, and wonder at, the tree plaques we stumble across scattered across our city.
Here we hope to showcase the plaques we find, and to enlist your help in finding them, so we can celebrate both the trees they represent and those who had the reason and foresight to plant them. In the absence of a central register, we will try to do the job, and encourage every plaque to be documented for the Historic Environment Record, both for its own sake and as proxy for the tree, and hopes, the plaque represents.
If you know of commemorative tree planting where plaques have not been used, or are missing, please also let us know: info@treesinchi.org.
Location List
Links enable you to navigate to each location on this page.
- Avenue de Chartres (multiple plaques)
- Jubilee Park
- Oaklands Park
- Priory Park
Avenue de Chartres
PRESENTED BY THE
NATIONAL COUNCIL OF WOMEN
CHICHESTER BRANCH
1973
Metal plaque is approx. 15.5cm high by 38cm wide. Script is raised and plaque has edges approx. 8mm deep (thicker than the central area). Script and edges silvery in colour on dark (black? Mud-streaked)
Plaque itself appears sound, although bottom edge is obscured by build up of earth – date only visible (and bottom left corner found for measurement) by scraping earth back.
Fixed to partially buried thick concrete concrete block that has some damage. Assumed screw/nail fixing in each corner (top two visible).
Inscription faces south/south-east.
Location shown by the red pin on the map.
Treezilla record
here.
Context
Date on plaque assumed to be when the tree was planted and that planting to be related to the construction of Avenue de Chartres, originally as an outside-the-walls bypass from the West to South Gates.
The current position on the centre of a busy roundabout presumably came about from the construction of the roundabout when Via Ravenna was built (believed late 1980s).
The orientation of the plaque raises questions about the original footpath arrangement/from where it was intended to be viewed.
Recorded by: Paula Chatfield
Date: 25th July 2023
Submitted for inclusion on Historic Environment Record
The National Council of Women still exists, although there is no longer a Chichester Branch.
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Jubilee Park
Content to follow.
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Oaklands Park
Content to follow.
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Priory Park
Content to follow.
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Page created: 26th July 2023.