Giant redwood at John Lennon’s Tittenhurst mansion could be felled
Scientists are trying to save a giant redwood tree in the garden of the mansion where John Lennon wrote his 1971 hit ‘Imagine’.
The Beatles leader lived in Tittenhurst Park in Sunninghill, Berkshire, between 1969 and 1973, during which time the Liverpool band broke up in 1970. The door of the house was the backdrop for their last ever photo session for the ‘Hey Jude’ cover. Lennon would then pen ‘Imagine’ in his bedroom in 1971.
The house dates back to the 18th century, with Lennon purchasing its 72 acres of property in 1969 for £145,000, eventually spending double that on renovations and refurbishment. Famously, he built a recording studio there before moving with his wife, Yoko Ono, to the US and selling the house to his former Beatles bandmate, Ringo Starr, in 1973.
Now, 50 years later, the current owner and scientists are trying to save a giant redwood at Tittenhurst Park after “advanced decay” was found in the trunk. However, experts have maintained that this stems from compression, disturbance and dry summers, with potential measures able to be taken to “revive the tree’s vigour”.
The type of tree is significant as it is linked to Lennon, with two redwoods hanging over Ono’s Strawberry Fields Forever memorial garden in New York’s Central Park. A deciduous tree, some believe they represent eternal renewal.
Andrew Day, the director of the company investigating the redwood at Tittenhurst, said: “The crown is showing signs of stress, but I would expect that this is as a result of soil compaction and disturbance within the rooting area of the tree, possibly further stress has been added by the recent dry summers.”
“The rooting area should be de-compacted and aerated to try and revive the trees vigour”, he continued. “As part of these works the ground should be treated with a soil improvement solution such and possible a covering of a significant part of the root protection area with an organic mulch.”
“Terraventing or similar could be used to undertake a combined approach to de-compact the soil and introduce mycorrhiza into the soil to improve its condition and hopefully aid the tree in recovering from the decline it is suffering.”
Day said the tree should be retested in two years or even sooner if it continues to exhibit signs of decline.
The process of terraventing is when a probe is hammered into the ground, with air then pumped down into it, breaking and loosening the soil. The state of the tree was discovered as the current owners of the property hope to implement planning permission to extend the house.
The documents show that a tree protection plan will be enforced to ensure the myriad of trees on the grounds – including Chinese palms, Nevada redwoods. Lebanese cedars and more – are not damaged during the new work.
The current planning permission documents note Barry Nolan of Mayer Construction as the present owner.
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