Landscape record 1540400000 - Priestfield Arboretum, Stony Lane

A small private arboretum created from about 1920 by Thomas Priest, a local solicitor and tree enthusiast who lived in an adjacent property. Now managed by a group of volunteers and open to the public. This horticultural collection of choice and rare trees of varying ages has been developed for nearly a century. The 205 tree species in the 2.1 ha. Site originate from 18 geographical regions of the world. The planting density varies. The collection has a representative of each of the 28 coniferous genera that will grow in Britain. Many of the species and varieties are unusual in Bucks and some are rare in the UK. It is unique as an arboretum in Bucks and survives intact, except for the loss of a small section at the edge. It is a valuable resource for the study of trees and includes the large proportion of conifers. It includes 12 ‘champion trees’, these being defined as individual trees that are important examples of their species because of their size, age, rarity or historical significance. Champion status was awarded to these by the Tree Register of Britain and Ireland (TROBI) in 2009. It contains a locally significant historic variety, the Prestwood black cherry, Prunus avium, self-seeded from the one remaining tree of this variety from a garden in Prestwood, formerly part of a commercial cherry orchard, together with an old specimen apple of variety ‘Hambledon Deux Ans’ which originated in Hampshire in the mid-C18. See report for detail (B1).