THOUSANDS of ancient and veteran trees are being surveyed by the National Trust in an effort to protect these “cathedrals of the natural world”.

The locations and condition of centuries-old trees will be recorded in a three-year study by the Trust to assess the threats they face.

The UK is unique in the number of ancient trees it has – around 60 to 70 per cent of all those recorded in northern Europe.

Many are now under threat from a range of human activities, including farming, car parks which compact the ground under them and even benches and seats which could lead to erosion around the roots.

Newly appointed ancient tree adviser Brian Muelaner warned: “It only takes a couple of years of really bad management to kill a 1,000- year-old tree.

“They not only provide a valuable habitat for a host of organisms such as rare fungi, lichens and insects, but are important culturally, historically, aesthetically and in terms of the landscape.”

A similar three-year survey is currently under way in Dorset as part of the Dorset Wildlife Trust.

The Dorset Greenwood Tree Project, now in its second year, is recording, surveying and conserving the county’s ancient and veteran trees.

Andrew Pollard, biodiversity manager of Dorset Wildlife Trust explained: “We had 64 trees documented at the beginning of the project, and now have 900.

“We are busy at the moment going through the verification process to confirm they are veteran or ancient.

“A number of interesting findings have come to our attention and it’s thanks to the public for alerting us to these fantastic specimens.

“We are now putting together a book called The Great Trees of Dorset which will be published in October.”

The Dorset Greenwood Tree project can confirm that we have two of the tallest broadleaf trees in the country.

The plane trees are about 200 years old and are at Bryanston School, near Blandford – although sadly not accessible to the public.

And not only is Wyndham’s Oak near Gillingham the oldest tree in Dorset but also the broadest at 10m wide (see separate panel).

“We have also uncovered two trees which pre-date Christianity,” said Andrew.

“These are yew trees at Woolland and Bulbarrow which we estimate to be around 2,000 years old.”

A number of ‘lost’ trees have been remembered, highlighting the place they had in social history.

Fontmell Magna once had a 250-year-old elm which was known as the Gossip Tree, probably because farm hands would sit underneath eating their lunch and chatting to each other.

Sadly, it succumbed to Dutch Elm disease in the 1970s but the villagers replaced it with a lime. The largest tree in Dorset was the Damery Oak in Blandford.

It no longer exists but there is documented evidence that it was around in the 1600s and was completely hollow.

The inside was so large it was used as a pub with a 16ft bar!

  • For further information on the Dorset Greenwood Tree Project, log on to dorset wildlife trust. org.uk.