Marwell-Tree-Trail

Ancient tree trail
Welcome to Marwell’s historic side. Our
grounds encircle the grade I listed Marwell
Hall, which is over 700 years old and
surrounded by a landscaped parkland
of trees. These trees were planted by the
different families who resided in the Hall to
form avenues and strolls.
Follow this trail to discover our ancient trees.
which will transport you back in time to the
different ages of Marwell and its families.
Discover the myths, medicines and wildlife of
our trees along the way.
5. Oak Tree (Quercus robur)
Directions:
Start at the lime tree. You can find it from the
Formal Garden welcome panel beside the
path in front of the Hall. Look towards the Hall
and find a tall tree to your right.
It is the one with several branches rising
upwards from the wide trunk which has heartshaped leaves in summer and shiny red twigs
in winter.
3. Yew Tree Walk
This line of yews formed the
boundary of a large bowling
alley in the 1500s when
the Seymour family lived
at Marwell. A road also ran
alongside the yews from the
Hall to a gatehouse. Rumour
has it that this was a favourite
walk of Henry VIII and Jane
Seymour when they were
courting. It formed part of a
walk called the Queen’s walk
The trail follows an easy-going route with one
or two gentle slopes. It is approximately 1km
(two-thirds of a mile) long and should take up
to one hour. You can interrupt your stroll for
refreshments and toilets at Encounter Village
about half way around.
1. Small-leaved Lime (Tilia cordata)
This magnificent tree is over
260 years old. It was planted
around 1749 when King
George II was on the throne.
The tree is the only survivor of
a long line of pollarded limes.
The Dacre family probably
planted the line to provide a
shady stroll in the park. This
was at a time when they were
making major changes to the
Hall and planting thousands of
trees in the park.
headaches and high blood
pressure.
Lime trees are great for wildlife.
Bees thrive on the nectar-rich
flowers, while the leaves fatten
up the attractive Lime Hawkmoth caterpillar. The flowers
are also little medicine chests
used to treat colds, coughs,
infections, inflammation,
Directions:
You’ve probably heard lime
without realizing it. Its wood is
a popular choice for making
electric guitars due to its
excellent resonance.
If you are visiting in winter
or spring look out for what
seem like nests high up in its
branches. These are actually
mistletoe.
Follow the path from the lime
tree towards the left hand side
of Marwell Hall. Go through the
doorway in the wall beside the
Hall to find a tree with gnarled
bark and dark evergreen
needles.
2. Yew Tree (Taxus baccata)
This large tree transports you
even further back in time
than the lime. It is a slowgrowing yew tree. At over
700 years old it is probably
the oldest tree at Marwell.
It was planted around 1309
when the Hall was first built
for the powerful Bishop
of Winchester as a single
timber-framed open Hall.
If you visit in autumn look out
for small red berries. Thrushes,
redwings and other birds
eat the berries despite them
being poisonous to people.
The tree itself is actually
very poisonous, although it
can be used to treat many
illnesses. Persian doctors
once used the yew to
treat heart problems whilst
modern chemotherapy now
derives one of its main drugs
from the yew’s bark.
Yew timber is so flexible that
it was used for longbows and
spears. There are several
myths around yew trees.
Many people think that
they form a link between
death and rebirth which is
why you often find them in
churchyards.
Directions:
Pass the yew tree on your
right and continue along
the path with the Hall on
your right. Go straight ahead
towards the line of dark trees.
which was so named when
Jane became Queen of
England in 1536.
Directions:
Continue forwards until you
reach a tarmac path. Bear
right along this path until it
takes a sharp right bend. If
you look back now you will
get a great view of Yew Tree
Walk.
Did you
know...
As you arrive at the entrance
to the gibbons look for a tall,
distinguished tree standing alone.
In winter and spring before its
leaves come out you can see its
strong, straight trunk and wide
branches. It has a wide leafy
canopy in summer and acorns in
autumn.
This is an oak tree of roughly 330
years old which was planted by the
Brett family around 1679.
The oak is often the commonest
tree in broadleaved woods. It is
a wildlife reserve in its own right,
providing a home to nearly 300
species of insects as well as birds,
mammals and plants.
Oak is a hard timber that has sailed
the seas and housed generations of
families. It was used to build ships,
especially naval men of war, until
the 19th century. Timber-framed
buildings, such as Marwell Hall, were
almost always built of oak.
five oak trees were delivered from
Marwell park to St Swithun’s Priory
which later became Winchester
Cathedral.
In Norse mythology, the oak was
often associated with the gods of
thunder. As it is the tallest tree in the
landscape, it is prone to being hit by
lightning. For ancient Celts, oak was
the tree of doors, believed to be a
gateway between worlds, while in
Classical Greece it was the sacred
tree of Zeus.
Directions:
Walk along the wide tarmac path
beside the train track. You will get a
good close-up view of the oak tree
on your right. Keep going until you
reach the gibbons.
If you like a drink, then raise a glass
to the oak. It is used for the barrels in
which red wines, sherry, brandy and
Scotch whisky are aged. In 1280,
Yew was the wood of
choice for longbows
and spears owing to its
strength and flexibility.
4. Grown out hedge
Look ahead of you at the
straggly line of young trees
and tall bushes.
hedge. The warrener’s house
was previously located in the
centre of this park.
No ancient trees or plants
survive here but this line
forms an ancient boundary
to a large Coney park or
medieval rabbit warren that
originally belonged to the
Hall. This was 86 acres in size
surrounded by a ditch and
Directions:
Continue along the path
towards Encounter Village.
From the Village follow the
path past Macaque Island.
6. Horse Chestnut
(Aesculus hippocastanum)
Did you
know...
The Oak Tree has been
designated the national
tree of over 12 countries
including Bulgaria,
England, Estonia,
France, Germany, Latvia,
Lithuania, Moldova,
Poland, Serbia, the United
States and Wales.
Left: Oak Tree
Turn your back to the
gibbons and look for the
tree with the widest trunk in
the woodland opposite. This
is a horse chestnut of more
than 350 years old.
Horse chestnuts were
planted in parks because
of their impressive candlelike flowers. They’re also a
popular tree in autumn for
their conkers,
It was planted between
1550 and 1650 by the
Seymour family at about
the time horse chestnuts
were first introduced into
Britain from the Balkans. The
tree formed part of a large
avenue that connected
the Hall with the south
gatehouse
Directions:
Head through Life in the
Trees, past the Fossa
enclosure to the children’s
playground. Turn left up the
path towards the back lawn.
Tree trail Map
Cedar
8. (Cedrus
libani)
This wonderfully spreading
evergreen tree is a cedar.
It is probably another tree
planted by the Dacre family,
dating from about 1779 which
makes it over 230 years old.
It was damaged in the storms
of 1987, when its top was
sheared off, but it is slowly
recovering.
Tigers
1.
3.
4.
2.
7. Box (Buxus sempervirens)
Marwell Hall
Encounter Village
8.
7.
9.
5.
6.
Locations: 1. Small-leaved Lime
2. Yew Tree
3. Yew Tree Walk
4. Grown out Hedge
5. Oak Tree
6. Horse Chestnut
7. Box
8. Cedar
9. Formal Garden
Can you see the lighter
green evergreen tree
hiding below the darker
yew to the right of the
footpath? It is just before
the lawn. The leaves are
small and glossy. This is a
box tree.
Boxes have been a
popular plant for hedges
and topiary for over 500
years. No one knows how
old this tree is because
they aren’t usually left to
grow this tall. It may have
formed part of a grownout hedge that survived
because of its proximity
to the yew. You can see
how boxes are typically
used as clipped garden
hedges when you reach
the formal garden at the
end of this walk.
Box is another musical
wood, being used for high
quality violin pegs and
tailpieces. Wars have also
been fought with box, at
least on the chessboard
where it is often used for
wooden chess pieces.
Directions:
From the box head
towards the lawn and the
large tree in between you
and the Hall. It has part
of its trunk protruding from
its top.
Did you know?
Cedars were a very popular
tree for landscape parks and
gardens. They are natives
of the Mediterranean from
Morocco to Turkey, including
the famous Cedar of Lebanon.
Formal
Garden
This new, Formal Garden
draws its inspiration from the
various garden styles and
plants that may have been
seen in the 16th and 17th
centuries.
The garden is split into three
separate areas each with
their own distinct style. The
first is a knot garden.
Cedar wood and oil are
great moth repellents and
have been used as such
for thousands of years. It is
mentioned in the Iliad which
was written in Greece over
2,700 years ago.
Its name derives from the
“over and under” of threads
used in an English knot
or strapwork needlework
pattern. The hedge height
increases at hedge junctions
to indicate the crossing of
threads and a number of
species may be used to
represent different threads.
Directions:
Knot gardens were in vogue
in the 16th century. Next to
the knot garden is the parterre.
Parterres might consist of a
group of flower beds laid
out in a formal pattern, often
surrounded by hedging and
sometimes with a central
feature. These gardens became
fashionable in the 17th century.
Finally you will come to the
kitchen garden.
Herbs and vegetables growing
in our garden today may have
been typical of those grown in
the 17th century.
Please take your time to enjoy
the sights and smells of the
flowers and herbs in this tranquil
area. You can discover more
about our gardens from the
panel in the parterre.
Enter the new Formal Garden.
We hope you have enjoyed our trail.
Contact Details:
Marwell Wildlife
Colden Common, Winchester
SO21 1JH
Registered Charity Number:
275433
For more ways to support us
or sign up to our e-newsletter
please visit our website
marwell.org.uk
Tel: 01962 777407
The ancient Egyptians used cedar resin to
mummify the dead. Archaeologists have
found cedar wood sawdust in tombs of
Egyptian Pharaohs.
9.
All information is correct at the
time of going to print (6/2010)
Printed on 100% recycled
paper ©Marwell Wildlife, 2010
The trees and gardens vary throughout the seasons so please
come and explore them again.
Please enjoy the rest of the Hall’s grounds and gardens or return to
the park by leaving the Formal Garden at one of its four corners.
Travel in
time with
a tree
Registered charity number: 275433
marwell.org.uk