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 Beech (''Fagus'') is a genus of deciduous trees in the family Fagaceae, native to temperate Europe, Asia, and North America. Recent classifications recognize 10 to 13 species in two distinct subgenera, ''Engleriana'' and ''Fagus''. The ''Engl ...

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 or ...

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 Landscape architecture is the design of outdoor areas, landmarks, and structures to achieve environmental, social-behavioural, or aesthetic outcomes. It involves the systematic design and general engineering of various structures for constructio ...

.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 repeated ...

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

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 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, 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 ''hornb ...

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

Examples

* Chanctonbury Ring, Sussex, 1760 *

Lancing Ring Lancing Ring is a Local Nature Reserve in Lancing, West Sussex, Lancing in West Sussex. It is owned and managed by Adur District Council. This chalk grassland site is notable for Butterfly, butterflies, Vipera berus, adders, and Viviparous lizar ...

, Sussex, late 18th century * Wittenham Clumps,

Berkshire Berkshire ( ; in the 17th century sometimes spelt phonetically as Barkeshire; abbreviated Berks.) is a historic county in South East England. One of the home counties, Berkshire was recognised by Queen Elizabeth II as the Royal County of Be ...

, 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 , lor ...

, c.1780 * Wayland's Smithy, Oxfordshire, planted with beech and fir trees in c.1810 and for a time known as "Wayland's Folly"

References

{{reflist landscape garden features