eGarden © 2005 Ed Mues

From The Garden of Ed. Submitted for publication in The Towne Crier on August 24, 2005

Pollarding: Centuries Old Woodland Management Technique

As a youngster growing up in a small town in Queens, I was fascinated and puzzled by a rather common sight. Many small front yards had a tree on either side of the walkway. I was puzzled because the tree with its thick trunk only stood about ten to twelve feet high instead of the eighty or more feet of other trees on the streets. The trunk itself ended at about six feet and above that issued a mass of branches with lush green foliage. These were not normal trees, I knew. They were as giant bonsai plants, shorter than the houses that they accompanied. They appeared to be ancient, but stunted trees, like sentinels standing guard.

Many years passed and my memory of these faded into the background. A few months ago, I was passing through Wurtsboro and caught a glimpse of those very trees from my childhood. My fascination was rekindled and I became determined to learn more about this phenomenon. Since then, I have witnessed quite a number of these visions from my past in many communities through which I travel. Each of these has a fairly large component of European immigrants, as did my original home town.

I can only imagine the great courage it took for some noble and believing woodsman to cut and remove the growth of a young sturdy tree above the height of six feet or so. I, myself, have begun experimenting with a pear tree in my front yard, with a good record of success after three years. Its trunk continues to thicken, its limited branched are becoming more productive, and its overall stature is very like our subject, especially after I cut it back severely.

These trees are known as pollard trees. The practice of pollarding has a rich historical documentation. One ancient woodland in Great Britain dedicated for a special use dates back to 8000 B.C.. The "special use" was not confined to Great Britain. It was put into practice in Denmark, Scotland, Scandinavia, Finland, Spain and even Crete.

So, what is the "special use" and how are pollard trees related to it? Poor soils were always associated with lands poorly suited to agriculture. Commoners sought to have land to graze their livestock as well as to gather wood. Royalty wished to have lands on which to hunt. Vast parklands were established in an effort to accommodate the desires of all.

trees
Pollard trees.

No one seems to know the name of the originator of this brilliant idea of maintaining both a woodland and a grassland pasture, but it would not be possible without pollarding. With pollarded trees, deer were unable to browse new or renewed growth. It was out of reach. The increased light to the enclosed "floor" aided the growth and spread of habitat diversity. Small animals and wildflowers flourished within a park/garden like area with an open wooded character. The pasture area received sufficient light to flourish and allow grazing.

The parklands evolved into naturalistic gardens for pleasure and employment (see below). Soils were refurbished, and pollards became trees of special beauty. These enclosures, at different times, were known as deer parks, wood pastures, royal forests, and sarcastically, as wild woods, British jungles and, handmade nature.

Throughout history commoners were allowed to use the land for grazing livestock, and the pollards became working trees that the common people cut and managed. The timber from the pollard wood provided them with a regular supply for a variety of uses including building materials for furniture, wicker work, houses, fencing, boats, as well as valuable fodder, firewood and charcoal. They became known as wood pasture systems in medieval times, and the idea spread throughout Europe. One estimate suggests that in and around Loughton Forest, the commoners effort was the life blood of its villages economy for perhaps one thousand years.

A famous woodland forest, today known as Epping Forest, and formerly the Royal Waltham Forest, encompasses 6000 acres. At different times, only royalty could hunt the deer (hence, the "royal forest" moniker above). Epping Forest has an estimated 50,000 trees over 400 years old, mostly pollards. Hatfield Forest, another site well documented since 1086 in the Doomsday Book, remains today as it has been.

In the Bowthorpe wood-pasture in Great Britain, a Quercus robur or English oak, is one thousand years old and still going in spite of neglect. Another site, Burnham Beeches in the United Kingdom had 3000 pollards in the 1600s.

As you travel around our beautiful country, you may likely come across some of these curiosities in towns and villages. They provide a hint of what was once a vital part of the community and the economy of a former time and place. It was brought here, even if only as a reminder. There is a subtle beauty if one takes the time to see it.

From The Garden of Ed. Submitted for publication in The Towne Crier on August 24, 2005

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