Langley Vale Wood is one of four

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

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 heritage. It has planted over 68 million trees since 1972. The Woodland Tru ...

. It is located in Langley Vale, near

Epsom Epsom is a town in the borough of Epsom and Ewell in Surrey, England, about south of central London. The town is first recorded as ''Ebesham'' in the 10th century and its name probably derives from that of a Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain ...

, 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 Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, Areas of Outstanding Natural Be ...

. It consists of 641 acres, including some

ancient woodland In the United Kingdom, ancient woodland is that which has existed continuously since 1600 in England, Wales and Northern Ireland (or 1750 in Scotland). The practice of planting woodland was uncommon before those dates, so a wood present in 1600 i ...

(120 acres) and open

downland Downland, chalkland, chalk downs or just downs are areas of open chalk hills, such as the North Downs. This term is used to describe the characteristic landscape in southern England where chalk is exposed at the surface. The name "downs" is deriv ...

. 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 Walton-on-the-Hill is a village in the Reigate and Banstead district, in the county of Surrey, England. It is midway between the market towns of Reigate and Epsom. The village is a dispersed cluster on the North Downs centred less than one m ...

and

Tadworth Tadworth is a large suburban village in Surrey, England in the south-east of the Epsom Downs, part of the North Downs. It forms part of the Borough of Reigate and Banstead. At the 2021 census, Tadworth (and Walton-on-the-Hill) had a population ...

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 Grade II* listed stately home and estate of about 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, B ...

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 Princess Royal is a title customarily (but not automatically) awarded by British monarchs to their eldest daughters. Although purely honorary, it is the highest honour that may be given to a female member of the royal family. There have been ...

. 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 rock#Sedimentary clastic rocks, clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of grain size, sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate mineral, silicate grains, Cementation (geology), cemented together by another mineral. Sand ...

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 ( Postgate; 6 May 1893 – 7 May 1980) was an English socialist politician, writer and poet. She wrote several detective stories jointly with her husband, G. D. H. Cole. She went on to hold important posts in London ...

, 'May, 1915' by

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

, 'The Gift of India' by

Sarojini Naidu Sarojini Naidu (Birth name, née Chattopadhyay) (; 13 February 1879 – 2 March 1949) was an Indian political activist and poet who served as the first Governor of Uttar Pradesh, Governor of United Provinces, after Independence Day (India), Indi ...

, 'Futility' by

Wilfred Owen Wilfred Edward Salter Owen Military Cross, MC (18 March 1893 – 4 November 1918) was an English poet and soldier. He was one of the leading poets of the First World War. His war poetry on the horrors of Trench warfare, trenches and Chemi ...

, '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 Georg Trakl (; 3 February 1887 – 3 November 1914) was an Austrian poet and the brother of the pianist Grete Trakl. He is considered one of the most important Austrian Expressionists. He is perhaps best known for his poem " Grodek", which h ...

. * 'Jutland Wood' commemorating the 6,097 sailors who died at the

Battle of Jutland The Battle of Jutland () was a naval battle between Britain's Royal Navy Grand Fleet, under Admiral John Jellicoe, 1st Earl Jellicoe, Sir John Jellicoe, and the Imperial German Navy's High Seas Fleet, under Vice-Admiral Reinhard Scheer, durin ...

. 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 Christine Charlesworth FRSA (born 1949) is an English sculptor. She has undertaken many private and public commissions, some of her works standing in locations in England. Life Born Christine Fullwood in Wolverhampton, Charlesworth studied at the ...

. 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 decoration of the Orders, decorations, and medals of the United Kingdom, British decorations system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British ...

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

Verdun Verdun ( , ; ; ; official name before 1970: Verdun-sur-Meuse) is a city in the Meuse (department), Meuse departments of France, department in Grand Est, northeastern France. It is an arrondissement of the department. In 843, the Treaty of V ...

, Cherry Avenue with trees bearing boards telling the stories of local soldiers, the carved soldier's bench, and the HMS Paragon 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 File:Langley Vale Wood, the Poppy Play Area.jpg, Play Area

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