A tree donated to the people of Essex by His Majesty King Charles III has been planted in celebration of his Coronation on Saturday 14th October by the Lord Lieutenant of Essex, Jennifer Tolhurst, on the village green in Theydon Bois. The village green forms part of Epping Forest which is managed as a charitable trust funded principally by the City of London Corporation, who were appointed as the Conservators under the Epping Forest Acts of 1878 & 1880.
The tree was a small-leaved lime, a large deciduous tree, which can grow to more than 20m high. Its bark is grey-brown and smooth and develops flaky plates with age. The twigs are brown-red in the shade, but become shiny in sunlight. Native to much of Europe and Britain it is found in woodland and grows best on moist but well-drained nutrient-rich soils. Once a dominant woodland species, it is now rare in woods, and in some English regions it is considered an indicator species of ancient woodland. Lime trees were often planted along roads by royal decree to get good luck in harvests.
Alongside the Lord Lieutenant of Essex were the chairman of the City Corporation’s Epping Forest and Commons Committee, Ben Murphy, Lord Mayor of the City of London Nicholas Lyons and the member of Parliament for Epping Forest Eleanor Laing, as well as Theydon Bois Parish, Epping Forest District Councillors and of course members of the public.
