A tree ring, also once popularly called a "folly", is a decorative feature of 18th and early 19th century planned landscapes in

Britain Britain most often refers to: * The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands * Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...

and

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

, comprising a circular earthen enclosure (a "tree ring enclosure") planted with trees.Williams, B. B. “Excavation of a Tree-Ring at Gallanagh, County Tyrone and Some Observations on Tree-Rings.” Ulster Journal of Archaeology, vol. 43, 1980, p 97. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/20567855 While several different species of tree were used, beech and

Scots pine ''Pinus sylvestris'', the Scots pine (UK), Scotch pine (US) or Baltic pine, is a species of tree in the pine family Pinaceae that is native to Eurasia. It can readily be identified by its combination of fairly short, blue-green leaves and orang ...

were especially popular for their tall, straight growth and landscape value. Tree rings are a development of the naturalistic 18th century style of landscape architecture.Williams (1980), 100

History and construction

Tree rings were created by 18th century landowners seeking to 'improve' and enhance the views across their properties. Beech became particularly valued in the 18th century as a landscape tree and for its timber, where previously it had been largely regarded as a fuel source and often managed by

coppicing Coppicing is a traditional method of woodland management which exploits the capacity of many species of trees to put out new shoots from their stump or roots if cut down. In a coppiced wood, which is called a copse, young tree stems are repeate ...

. Hilltop groves of beech trees were especially favoured; several well-known examples survive in the South of England, including

Wittenham Clumps Wittenham Clumps are a pair of wooded chalk hills in the Thames Valley, in the civil parish of Little Wittenham, in the historic county of Berkshire, although since 1974 administered as part of South Oxfordshire district. The higher of the two ...

, the earliest such planting in England, dating from 1740. Creation of a tree ring involved raising a circular hedge bank: this was planted with quickset to provide a fast-growing, thorny barrier to protect the young trees from livestock. The term "tree ring enclosure" is generally used to describe the resulting bank, while "tree ring" is used to refer to the trees themselves; in some cases an existing manmade feature such as a barrow or motte was used. While the outer ring of trees often featured beeches, in the 19th century the interior of tree rings was often planted with ornamental conifers. Mount Lucas - Drumcaw

In Ireland, tree rings were often planted as a landscape embellishment on top of

drumlin A drumlin, from the Irish word ''droimnín'' ("littlest ridge"), first recorded in 1833, in the classical sense is an elongated hill in the shape of an inverted spoon or half-buried egg formed by glacial ice acting on underlying unconsolidated ...

s, and occasionally made use of an existing rath or ringfort by creation of a small additional bank.Williams (1980), 99 The species used were similar to those in England, with a high proportion of beech and Scots pine, with smaller numbers of ash, oak, sycamore and other trees. In the late 18th century the

Dublin Society The Royal Dublin Society (RDS) ( ga, Cumann Ríoga Bhaile Átha Cliath) is an Irish philanthropic organisation and members club which was founded as the 'Dublin Society' on 25 June 1731 with the aim to see Ireland thrive culturally and economi ...

offered a premium, at two shillings a

perch Perch is a common name for fish of the genus ''Perca'', freshwater gamefish belonging to the family Percidae. The perch, of which three species occur in different geographical areas, lend their name to a large order of vertebrates: the Per ...

running measure, for enclosing or tree planting on "old Danish forts, mounds, raths and moats".

Present status

The relatively short lifespan of beeches means that tree rings are becoming vulnerable to damage or loss. Chanctonbury Ring was heavily damaged by the Great Storm of 1987, losing about 75% of its trees. Many of the beech trees at Wittenham Clumps are reaching the end of their life; the

Earth Trust Founded in 1967, Earth Trust is an environmental charity (not-for-profit organisation) which was originally known as the Northmoor Trust for Countryside Conservation. Earth Trust was initially established by the British engineer Sir Martin Wood t ...

, which manages the site, is replanting with more drought-resistant

hornbeam Hornbeams are hardwood trees in the flowering plant genus ''Carpinus'' in the birch family Betulaceae. The 30–40 species occur across much of the temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. Origin of names The common English name ''hornbeam ...

and

lime Lime commonly refers to: * Lime (fruit), a green citrus fruit * Lime (material), inorganic materials containing calcium, usually calcium oxide or calcium hydroxide * Lime (color), a color between yellow and green Lime may also refer to: Botany ...

. Wittenham Clumps
The Earth Trust, accessed 25-10-22

Examples

Chanctonbury Ring Chanctonbury Ring is a prehistoric hill fort atop Chanctonbury Hill on the South Downs, on the border of the civil parishes of Washington and Wiston in the English county of West Sussex. A ridgeway, now part of the South Downs Way, runs along ...

, Sussex, 1760 * Lancing Ring, Sussex, late 18th century *

, Berkshire, c.1740 * Seven Sisters,

Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lord_ ...

, c.1780 *

Wayland's Smithy Wayland's Smithy is an Early Neolithic chambered long barrow located near the village of Ashbury in the south-central English county of Oxfordshire. The barrow is believed to have been constructed about 3600 BC by pastoral communities shortly ...

, Oxfordshire, planted with beech and fir trees in c.1810 and for a time known as "Wayland's Folly"

References

{{reflist landscape garden features