Cubbington Pear Tree

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Cubbington Pear Tree
Cubbington pear tree.jpg
The Cubbington Pear Tree in June 2015
Cubbington Pear Tree
SpeciesEuropean wild pear ( Pyrus communis var. communis)
Location Cubbington, Warwickshire, England
Coordinates 52°18′41″N1°29′01″W / 52.3113°N 1.4836°W / 52.3113; -1.4836
Date seededcirca 1760
Date felled20 October 2020

The Cubbington Pear Tree was a wild pear tree located near Cubbington in Warwickshire, England. Around 250 years old, it was the second largest wild pear tree in the country and a noted local landmark. In 2015 the tree was voted England's Tree of the Year. A Parliamentary petition was launched in September 2020 to save the tree from being cut down for HS2 and a month later had over 20,000 signatures triggering an official government response. It was felled as part of the High Speed 2 railway development on 20 October 2020. [1] [2]

Contents

Description

The Cubbington Pear Tree was identified as a specimen of Pyrus communis var. communis, and is listed as such in the Champion Tree Register. [3] It is located on the top of a hill near to South Cubbington Wood, Cubbington. [4] [5] The tree sat on private land but near to a public footpath from which it was visible. [6] Thought to be around 250 years old, the Cubbington Pear Tree may have been the United Kingdom's oldest wild pear tree. [5] [6] The tree was the second largest wild pear tree in the country, measuring some 3.78 metres (12.4 ft) in girth. [5] [6] Despite its age the tree continued to blossom and bear fruit until the end of its life. [7] The tree was entered onto the Tree Register of the British Isle as a national champion (the oldest or largest known specimen of a particular species). [6]

HS2

In 2011 the Cubbington Pear Tree was identified as under threat from the proposed High Speed 2 (HS2) Phase 1 railway line between London and Birmingham, becoming one of 20 pear trees to be threatened by the scheme. [5] [6] [8] An expert from Warwickshire Museum visited the site to record and assess the tree. [6] Representatives from HS2 said that the tree cannot be relocated as the lower trunk is hollow. They instead proposed to take cuttings from the tree and plant seedlings from it nearby as a replacement. The tree trunk was to be placed in the South Cubbington Wood to form a habitat for insects, fungi and plants. [9]

The removal of the tree was opposed by the Cubbington Action Group who instead proposed that this section of the line be tunnelled beneath the tree. [5] [9] A petition in support of this proposal was sent to the HS2 Parliamentary select committee, but the scheme was rejected on economic grounds, with an estimated cost of £46 million. [9] [10] In preparation for its removal the Shuttleworth College successfully took cuttings from the Cubbington Pear Tree by September 2017. [10] The Cubbington Action Group led a series of walks to view the tree in April and May 2018 to see it in bloom for the "last time". [11] Preliminary works for HS2 in this area had commenced by May 2018. [12]

In October 2019, local residents set up a protest encampment in South Cubbington Wood to protect the Cubbington Pear Tree and other nearby woodland. [13] A parliamentary petition was launched in September 2020 and received 20,000 signatures of support. A formal response from the Department for Transport stated "HS2 Ltd explored all possible options to avoid removing the tree, but due to its age and condition, removal cannot be avoided" and that 40 new trees had been grown from cuttings from the pear, to be grown locally. They also stated that the stump and roots of the tree would be relocated to allow it an opportunity to regrow. The tree was cut down on 20 October 2020. [14] Some of the wood from the tree was donated to a local woodworker. [15]

In October 2023 it was reported that the transplanted stump had grown new shoots showing that at that time the tree was still alive. [16]

Tree of the Year

The Cubbington Pear Tree was entered into the English Tree of the Year competition in 2015 along with more than 200 others. [9] It was selected by the competition's panel of experts for the 10-strong shortlist for the public vote. [5] It won the competition having garnered more than 10,000 votes and beating famous trees such as the Ankerwycke Yew in Berkshire, the Boscobel Oak in Shropshire and the Glastonbury Thorn in Somerset. [9] [8] It was subsequently described by the Warwickshire Wildlife Trust as the "poster-boy for all the trees along the route of HS2 ... that are under threat from the project". [17]

The tree was subsequently entered into the 2016 European Tree of the Year competition where it came 8th out of 15 entries with 7,858 votes. [18] [19]

Related Research Articles

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Cubbington is a village and civil parish with a population of 3,929, adjoining the north-eastern outskirts of Leamington Spa, Warwickshire, England, approximately 3 miles from the town centre. Welsh Road, running through the village crossroads, was an old sheep drovers' route connecting London and Wales. Since the 1950s when the village expanded there have been two parts to the village: Cubbington proper which was the old village core, and New Cubbington which is to the west, although both are referred to as Cubbington. Topographically the highest point of the village sits about 100 metres (330 ft) above sea level while its lowest is about 60 metres (200 ft). For many years the electorate for Cubbington was represented in government by the MP for Warwick and Leamington but for the 2010 UK Elections it moved to the new Kenilworth & Southam constituency.

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Oakley Wood is a 47 hectare woodland with public access situated south of Leamington Spa in Warwickshire, close to the village of Bishop's Tachbrook. The wood is a Plantation on Ancient Woodland Site (PAWS); that is, a site which has been continuously wooded since at least 1600, but which has more recently had much of the native broad-leaved trees felled and replaced with a commercial conifer crop. Records of the wood date back to 12th century, and it contains a scheduled ancient monument known as Oakley Wood Camp.

References

  1. ↑ "Award-winning pear tree felled to make way for HS2". Forestry Journal. 20 October 2020. Retrieved 30 January 2021.
  2. ↑ Correspondent, Neil Johnston, Midlands. "Tree of the year felled to clear way for HS2 link". The Times . ISSN   0140-0460 . Retrieved 30 January 2021.{{cite news}}: |last= has generic name (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  3. ↑ "Champion Trees of the UK". www.treeregister.org.
  4. ↑ "The Cubbington Pear Tree". European Tree of the Year. Retrieved 10 October 2018.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Gilbert, Simon (28 September 2015). "HS2-threatened ancient pear tree up for accolade". Coventry Telegraph. Retrieved 10 October 2018.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "A champion pear tree is identified on the HS2 route". BBC Coventry and Warwickshire. 17 January 2011. Retrieved 10 October 2018.
  7. ↑ "DNA cloning not for pear tree HS2 bosses told". Leamington Observer. 7 May 2014. Retrieved 10 October 2018.
  8. 1 2 "HS2 route tree voted nation's favourite". BBC News. 8 November 2015. Retrieved 10 October 2018.
  9. 1 2 3 4 5 Kennedy, Maev (8 November 2015). "Ancient pear tree in path of HS2 rail route wins Woodland Trust prize". The Guardian. Retrieved 10 October 2018.
  10. 1 2 Kearns, Laura (28 September 2017). "Pear tree which is set to be destroyed by HS2 will live on in sapling". Leamington Observer. Retrieved 10 October 2018.
  11. ↑ Kearns, Laura (26 April 2018). "Take a 'last look' at Cubbington's pear tree in bloom". Leamington Observer. Retrieved 10 October 2018.
  12. ↑ Thompson, Catherine (16 May 2018). "HS2 chiefs slammed after claims trees cut down at wildlife haven during nesting season". Leamington Observer. Retrieved 16 October 2018.
  13. ↑ "Campaigners aim to protect ancient woodland by setting up camp". Leamington Observer.
  14. ↑ Murray, Jessica (20 October 2020). "Former tree of the year felled in Warwickshire to make way for HS2". The Guardian. Retrieved 20 October 2020.
  15. ↑ "What's happened to the remains of our much-loved Cubbington pear tree - and wood from others trees chopped down by HS2 around Leamington and Kenilworth?". www.leamingtoncourier.co.uk. Retrieved 27 December 2020.
  16. ↑ Barkham, Patrick (26 October 2023). "Ancient pear tree comes back to life". The Guardian. Retrieved 26 October 2023.
  17. ↑ "Pear Tree in line of HS2 beats Magna Carta Yew & Tolpuddle Sycamore to Tree of the Year title". Warwickshire Wildlife Trust. Archived from the original on 22 November 2018. Retrieved 10 October 2018.
  18. ↑ "England's Tree of the Year, Cubbington pear, to be cut down for HS2". Daily Telegraph. 9 November 2015. Retrieved 10 October 2018.
  19. ↑ "European Tree of the Year 2016" . Retrieved 10 October 2018.
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