Today I looked at the cathedral limes with new eyes, and realised what we have lost.

In my mind's eye, these trees (TT1 in the Chichester City Tree Trail) are an avenue; they were planted in Victorian times and are a constant feature of old postcards, a green backdrop to the Cross.

According to the wonderful book, Chichester in the 1950s by Edward Brown, we know that:
"Axes were taken to the 80-year-old Cathedral lime trees in December 1951" ... "In the Conservation nineties it seems sacrilegious, but the Cathedral and City authorities wanted to fell trees in order to provide an open space, enhancing views of the Cathedral.
"Controversy raged and a protest petition, organised by Parklands music teacher Yvonne Godfrey was signed by 11,000 people countrywide. Happily, a compromise was reached and nine of the 16 trees were spared after consultations with the architect J.L. Denman."

I arrived in Chichester in 2003 and, at some point after that, one of the remaining lime trees was felled, and then there were 8. The tree pit was tiled over and, for a while, there was a statue there on a temporary plinth. More recently, as the tiles broke, the "tree" pit was covered with concrete. In late July 2017, another 2 went (necessary due to fungal decay), and then there were 6. These remaining 6 are protected by a Tree Preservation Order (15/00269/TPO; source http://www.chichester.gov.uk/treepreservation ).

But it was not until today, when I went to take a photo of TT1 specifically for this website, that I was shocked to realise that the loss of the three individual trees has "broken" the avenue - our cathedral no longer has a row of trees befitting its stature and status and, unlike at Winchester ( https://www.winchester-cathedral.org.uk/lime-tree-conservation/  ) new trees have not been planted to replace what we have lost.

So, for now, when you visit, please imagine the foresight of the Victorians who sought to enhance the most important landmark building in our city by planting trees to match. In our current tree- (and climate/carbon-) conscious times, perhaps large trees can return to fill the gaps and we can celebrate, in time, the restoration of the avenue.

Paula Chatfield
(volunteer Chichester Tree Warden)
19th August 2020

More photos on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/pg/ChiTWs/photos/?tab=album&album_id=957522544379592 .