The Felling of the Lombardy Poplar Trees -
Or 12 Disciples as they were known locally
To celebrate the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II, in 1953, St John’s PCC had a red neon cross fixed to the church tower face; planted an avenue of Hawthorne trees in the church yard and planted 12 Poplar trees between our then bowling green, used by our men’s group, and our tennis court.
The Lombardy Poplars were planted in a row, a traditional planting often used in church yards to represent the 12 disciples with Judas in the corner.
The land consisting of the bowling green was later consecrated and became an extension to our church yard. In the late 1950’s/early 1960’s, lock up garages were built on the tennis court to generate rental income for our church. This land had to be sold in the mid 1990’s, following the collapsed east end wall needing a rebuild; areas of dry and wet rot needing treatment; inadequate heating and the organ needing attention.
A decision was taken by the PCC, following much deliberation surrounding the trees longer term viability, to have the trees felled. Following a tendering process the work commenced in late February 2016 with the erection of scaffolding to protect the graves within the church yard.
The felling began on 7 March 2016 and took just over a week to complete. The photographs depicts the process of the poplars removal.