Langley Vale Wood is one of four

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

Centenary woods created by the

Woodland Trust The Woodland Trust is the largest woodland conservation charity in the United Kingdom and is concerned with the creation, protection, and restoration of native woodland Natural heritage, heritage. It has planted over 50 million trees since 1972 ...

. It is located in

Langley Vale Langley Vale is a village in the Borough of Epsom and Ewell, in Surrey, England, approximately south of central London. As its name suggests, the village is in a dry valley between Epsom Downs and Walton Downs. Historically part of the Ashtead ...

, near Epsom, on the

North Downs The North Downs are a ridge of chalk hills in south east England that stretch from Farnham in Surrey to the White Cliffs of Dover in Kent. Much of the North Downs comprises two Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONBs): the Surrey Hills and ...

. It consists of 641 acres, including some ancient woodland (120 acres) and open downland. Access is by public right of way and there is a charging car park at the site. Parts of the site near Walton-on-the-Hill and Tadworth were used for army training during the First World War and 8,000 troops were billeted here at Tadworth Camp. Nearby Round Wood was used for gas training. Not far away was

Woodcote Park Woodcote Park is a stately home near Epsom, Surrey, England, currently owned by the Royal Automobile Club. It was formerly the seat of a number of prominent English families, including the Calvert family, Barons Baltimore and Lords Proprietor of t ...

Convalescent Camp. The site was purchased by the Woodland Trust in 2014 and they have since planted about 180,000 trees. Langley Vale Wood was formally opened on 24 June 2015 by HRH the Princess Royal. The Woodland Trust have commissioned several installations around the site. * 'The Regiment of Trees' consists of twelve figures carved in Hill House Edge

sandstone Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks. Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicates) ...

by Patrick Walls, representing some of the 20,000 volunteers for the

2nd London Division The 47th (1/2nd London) Division was an infantry division of the British Army, raised in 1908 as part of the Territorial Force. Formation The Territorial Force (TF) was formed on 1 April 1908 following the enactment of the Territorial and Res ...

inspected by Lord Kitchener in January 1915 on Epsom Downs. Some of the figures are in uniform with rifles but others are in civilian clothes because there were insufficient uniforms and there were only 100 rifles. The inspection took place during a blizzard. * 'Witness' is a sculpture by John Merrill (2016-2020) using thirty-five massive pieces of oak, inspired by Paul Nash's paintings. Carved inside the sculpture are excerpts from seven poems written during the war. These are 'Afterwards' by

Margaret Cole Dame Margaret Isabel Cole (née Postgate family, Postgate; 6 May 1893 – 7 May 1980) was an English socialism, socialist politician, writer and poet. She wrote several detective stories jointly with her husband, G. D. H. Cole. She went on to h ...

, 'May, 1915' by

Charlotte Mew Charlotte Mary Mew (15 November 1869 – 24 March 1928) was an English poet whose work spans the eras of Victorian poetry and Modernism. Early life and education Mew was born in Bloomsbury, London, daughter of the architect Frederick Mew (18 ...

, 'The Gift of India' by Sarojini Naidu, 'Futility' by Wilfred Owen, 'Matthew Copse' by

Will Streets John William Streets (24 March 1886 – 1 July 1916), better known as Will Streets, was an English soldier and poet of the First World War. Streets was born in Whitwell, Derbyshire, the son of William and Clara Streets, and was the eldest of twe ...

, 'Lights Out' by Edward Thomas, 'Grodec' by Georg Trakl. * 'Jutland Wood' commemorating the 6,097 sailors who died at the

Battle of Jutland The Battle of Jutland (german: Skagerrakschlacht, the Battle of the Skagerrak) was a naval battle fought between Britain's Royal Navy Grand Fleet, under Admiral John Jellicoe, 1st Earl Jellicoe, Sir John Jellicoe, and the Imperial German Navy ...

. This consists of an avenue of 14 oak porthole markers, one named for each of the British warships sunk, together with the number killed on each, created by Andrew Lapthorn. At one end of the avenue in a boat-shaped area with benches is a steel figure of a sailor by Christine Charlesworth. On the side facing the ancient woodland the sailor is wearing a First World War uniform, while on the other side, facing the newly planted saplings, it wears modern uniform. There is a sapling for every man killed and the groves are named after those awarded the

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious award of the British honours system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British Armed Forces and may be awarded posthumously. It was previously ...

during the battle. Also there is the Sainsbury’s Community Orchard with picnic tables, Verdun Oaks grown from descendants of acorns from the battlefield of

Verdun Verdun (, , , ; official name before 1970 ''Verdun-sur-Meuse'') is a large city in the Meuse department in Grand Est, northeastern France. It is an arrondissement of the department. Verdun is the biggest city in Meuse, although the capital ...

, Cherry Avenue with trees bearing boards telling the stories of local soldiers, the carved soldier's bench, and the

HMS Paragon Three ships of the Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in t ...

memorial seat. The charging car park on Headley Road opened in May 2023 and a visitors' centre is planned.

Gallery

File:Langley Vale Wood, Witness sculpture 2.jpg, Witness File:Langley Vale Wood, The Regiment of Trees view.jpg, The Regiment of Trees File:Jutland Wood, Langley Vale Wood, Epsom, Surrey.jpg, Jutland Wood avenue File:Langley Vale Wood, The Soldier's Bench.jpg, The Soldier's Bench

References

External links

Langley Vale Wood

Map
{{DEFAULTSORT:Langley Vale Wood Epsom Environment of Surrey Woodland Trust Forests and woodlands of Surrey First World War centenary