A+
A-
If you walk through Childwall Woods in the summer months you will see many beautiful trees but none quite as stunning as the rare variegated oak that stands before you on the tiny back path, half hidden by rhododendrons.
You may notice its beautifully patterned leaves and how symmetrical it is. No doubt pruned to be that way by Thomas Winkworth, gardener to Ralph Brocklebank the wealthy owner of the Brocklebank shipping line who lived at Childwall Hall until the late 1800s.
Ralph Brocklebank imported many exotic trees and rhododendrons for his ornamental garden at Childwall Hall and hybrid and grafted species are also evident, including 2 variegated oak trees. Manmade trees, where albino oak was combined with common oak and grafted onto the more robust common oak root, creating a creamy white ripple on the green oak leaf. An incredibly skilful horticultural feat and no doubt would have made the specimens very expensive.
Roughly 140 years ago, 2 of these rare trees were planted in the grounds of Childwall Hall for the pleasure of its tenants, and they were pruned and balanced to look stunning as they were approached from the cobbled pathway.
Sadly, with the death of Ralph Brocklebank in 1892 the hall was rented by a progression of tenants who knew nothing about the special trees in their ornamental garden, and nature took hold. The beautiful hybrid rhododendrons took over and covered many of the trees including the rare variegated oaks and it was another 100 years before they were found.
On 5th June 2020, the smaller of the 2 rare oaks was noticed and photographed, sending shockwaves through the Tree Register of Britain and Ireland (TROBI). Until this time only 67 variegated oak trees were known to be growing in Britain and Ireland and here we are finding another 2, as within days of the first discovery, the second and larger tree was found, becoming the champion of its species by girth in Lancashire. (The TROBI has kept the old counties).
You may have seen the larger tree by the steps in Childwall Woods, and it was shown as one of the ‘Tree Stories’ in this series. However we weren’t to have it for long as on 26th November 2021 storm Arwen broke it in two, just above its graft mark, leaving it lying in state on the raised stone peninsular next to it.
Luckily the first tree survived the storm and has taken the title of the new Champion Variegated Oak (Quercus robur Variegata) Champion of Lancashire by girth. The only Variegated oak in Lancashire.
It has a stub of a branch, just above its graft mark where it was pruned to make its branches face east-west, not north-south, maybe so that walkers would be able to see its profile as they approached along the cobbled path. With the sun setting behind it, a wonderful symmetrical silhouette can be seen. You might say it’s a horticultural sculpture, in living wood instead of stone.
Now recognised as the rare and valuable tree that it is, Friends of Childwall Woods and Fields have taken steps to protect it. Volunteers worked to divert the path further away from its roots so as not to damage them any longer, and the rhododendrons that have choked it for 100 years have been cut back to give it space for sunlight and rain to come through.
Who knows how long we will have our champion? Grafted trees do not usually last as long as natural ones. It is covered with thick moss which the nuthatches and tree creepers love to poke about in, and it has a deep sap run on its trunk. All signs that it is nearing the end of its life. At last, being cared for after years of neglect and now being recognised as the rare and beautiful tree that it was known to be when planted all those years ago.
I can’t help thinking how lucky we are that the creamy leaves on the floor looked like litter on that Sunday when I was litter picking back in June ’20, or we may never have known the beauty of those 2 trees and the skill of the gardeners who created them 140 years ago.
3