The history of the Lincolnshire Limewoods

BRITAIN’S largest remaining concentration of ancient semi-natural small-leaved lime (Tilia cordata)-dominated woodlands lies a few miles east of Lincoln. Composed of 13 wooded ‘islands’ located in a gently undulating agricultural landscape, the Bardney Limewoods National Nature Reserve has an area of 500 hectares.

The Lincolnshire Limewoods Project was designed to revitalise the woodlands and boost public awareness of their cultural value and potential for education and leisure.

The ambitious initiative encompassed 61 square miles of the county and incorporated over a quarter of its remaining ancient semi-natural woodland. A range of habitats, including those favoured by several endangered butterfly species and dormice, were improved. The creation of walking routes incorporated the ruins of several medieval abbeys and other sites of archaeological interest.

Prior to World War II, the limewoods were managed according to long-held practice with traditional tree mixes planted close to Chambers Farm’s ancient woodland. Broadleaved species were felled throughout the war years, but as no other management was undertaken previously, coppiced lime, oak, ash, field maple and birch regenerated into high forest. Post war, the demands of the 1951 Forestry Act saw parts of the limewoods cleared and replanted with fast-growing softwoods. But whereas a significant number of conifers failed to thrive, the native tree species survived.

The clearance of over-stood coppice produces a poor mix of timber but immediately reveals the quality of the standards in the crop. Next time round hopefully the markets will be able to support the production of high-quality coppice ware.

50 years on, the Limewoods Project saw 500 ha of conifer plantations converted to native species by the Forestry Commission. Lead partner for the Lincolnshire Biodiversity Action Plan for Ancient Semi-natural Woodland, the organisation stated: “The key to conservation management within the National Nature Reserve is restoring open habitats and using traditional coppice management. A management plan for the NNR and Statement of Intent for the associated woodlands has been signed with Natural England.”

Project leader, Liz Fleuty, reported: “The Limewoods Project is a great example of multi-partner landscape-scale working as promoted by the Regional Forestry Framework. The project partners are making a real difference in an area not renowned for its woodlands, and it is particularly pleasing to see how many landowners have taken advantage of the opportunities to create new habitats to link up the remaining woodlands. By working across landscape boundaries, rich and diverse woodlands can more easily make links for wildlife, improve the quality of an area’s heritage and cultural assets, and ensure the area is available for the public’s enjoyment and understanding.”

Golitho Wood was planted by the Woodland Trust in the early 2000s.

Limewoods were once commonplace in Lincolnshire. Regarded as the county’s earliest landscape feature, the surviving fragments display the species mix that characterised the lowland area for millennia before Roman invaders overcame the locality’s Iron Age tribespeople and constructed a fortified timber-built settlement on Lindon; a prominence overlooking the tidal River Witham.

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Ash (Fraxinus excelsior) and pedunculate oak (Quercus robur) together with the birches (Betula pubescens and Betula pendula) formed the canopy. Sessile oak (Quercus petraea) appeared where sandy soil overlay clay. Wild cherry (Prunus avium), wych elm (Ulmus glabra), field maple (Acer campestre) and the wild service tree (Sorbus torminalis) were also present. Hazel (Corylus avellana) and holly (Ilex aquifolium), alder buckthorn (Frangula alnus) and midland hawthorn (Crataegus laevigata) created the shrub layer. Wetter terrain supported alder (Alnus glutinosa).

Over time, Lincolnshire’s prolific limewoods were divided and reduced by activities that tended to thwart natural regeneration – mainly land clearance for settlement and livestock grazing. Bardney was once an island that stood in the boggy surrounds of the River Witham. Complications related to its poorly drained soils unsuited to the plough, together with difficulties posed by location, access and disputed borders, are thought to have prevented the over-exploitation of its woods.

Coppiced trees, which are cut at ground level, leave a stool from which new shoots regenerate and are left to grow on until they attain a size that enables them to be used for small wood produce. The sustainable practice is undertaken on the underwood; those species which grow beneath others such as oak that are being developed as standards. Coppicing traditionally followed a rotation that ensured that the stems reached the optimum diameter for maximising the yield of suitable products.

Two 7-metre-long dugouts unearthed from the peaty banks of the River Witham in Lincoln’s vicinity suggest that the Iron Age Celts appreciated the enduring nature of oak. Reports indicate that the vessels were moored to a timber-built causeway dating back to 600 BC. Excavations revealed two parallel lines of supporting posts placed
4 metres apart and set at right angles to the watercourse. Horizontal timbers laid between the posts created a substantial boardwalk over the marshy ground.

Surprising though it may seem, Lincolnshire’s limewoods were not documented until the 11th-century Norman monarch William I authorised the Domesday survey of his assets. Managed as coppice with standards, the resource was the mainstay of the local medieval economy. Centuries later, it was observed that: “… the trees in the limewoods have maintained their position in the ecosystem because of the very great longevity of individual trees and their extraordinary potential for vegetative regrowth after injury.”

A short timber haulage access route in Hardy Gang Wood has facilitated the uplift of harvested produce. Thinning of standards has produced timber for the sawmill; remaining part-loads will find demand as firewood.

A rich rural culture existed within the limewoods. Some professions related to the elite sport of hunting. A range of woodland craft skills also offered employment; carpenters, for example, obtained their timber from locally coppiced and pollarded trees. ‘Mud and stud’ dwellings were once a common Lincolnshire feature. A basic frame was constructed from sturdy upright oak ‘studs’ which were connected by cross-rails at the tops and bottoms. After thin ash staves had been attached to the frame, it was plastered with clay combined with straw and manure. Livestock grazed communal wood pasture and also roamed stands of mature coppice after cutting. Communities intimate with their wooded surrounds constantly foraged for fuel, food and medicinal herbs.

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In 1217, Henry III applied his seal to the Charter of the Forest. The document contained all the rules relating to the forest contained in the Magna Carta (1215) and re-established the rights of all those who used England’s woodlands. Eight years later, the Charter was slightly modified and issued in its definitive form. It made clear that the liberties detailed “… were to be kept in our Kingdom of England forever.” Nevertheless, as common land was gradually privatised and enclosed, the rights defined in the document were in grave danger of being lost. Protests of various kinds ensued, culminating in the violent but unsuccessful Peasants’ Revolt of 1381.

At Chambers Wood a footpath lined with mostly field maples may appear to follow the line of an ancient woodland boundary. Extensive conifer establishment took place after WWII to form Chambers Plantation. This, however, is one of a few areas established with locally occurring native species early in the 20th century. Nearby Scrubbs Wood is the more genuine article – part of the ancient Lincolnshire Limewoods.

Issues invoked by Henry VIII (1491–1547) were to cause significant changes in Lincolnshire’s land ownership and subsequent management. Lindon had by this time developed from a timber-built palisade into the prosperous cathedral city of Lincoln. Contributing timber to the construction of the magnificent edifice would have taken its toll on the local limewood resource.

Sixteenth-century Lincolnshire accrued much of its wealth from wool production; huge quantities of the commodity were transported via the River Witham to the port of Boston for shipment to northern Europe. No doubt many of the merchants who chose to invest their gains in distinctive half-timbered properties insisted that they be built of durable, locally grown oak. Centuries on, many of these beautiful, occasionally quirky buildings continue to add character to Lincoln’s streets.

Lincoln Cathedral’s diocese extended from the River Humber in the north to the River Thames in the south. But it was not only the city’s ecumenical standing that enabled many religious communities to flourish in the locality. Obliged to earn a living, the monks too incorporated shepherding into their agricultural regimes.

‘Linde’ was the Anglo-Saxon name for lime. Pollen records indicate that 6,000 years ago small-leaved lime was one of the most common trees in England. Lime coppices readily producing an easily worked, finely textured wood that is used in turnery, carving and furniture making. Tending not to warp, the light-coloured timber is particularly suitable for sound-boards and piano keys.

The Lincolnshire Rising, or Pilgrimage of Grace, erupted when Henry VIII – who, for personal reasons, had challenged the Pope’s authority and declared himself ‘head of the Protestant Church’ – resolved to suppress those of the area’s abbeys unwilling to renounce Catholicism by declaring them “unprofitable”. Bardney Abbey’s Benedictine Order was amongst those who refused. Six of the brothers were hanged for their effrontery, after which the king seized the monastery and its assets. Other dissolutions followed, the monastic estates being either bestowed on members of the nobility or sold to affluent farmers who, as might be expected, tended to turn them into sheepwalks.

Some mention of enclosures had been made during the Peasants’ Revolt, but resistance to the procedure had increased considerably by the 18th century. Commoners found their rights eroded as landowners gave themselves licence to enclose forests and even to dam watercourses for personal gain. Said to be Lincolnshire’s anthem, the song ‘The Lincolnshire Poacher’ could be said to express defiance to legislation imposed by Robert Walpole’s government in 1723.

Nettlesham Woodland Trust has established oaks for the future restoration of the timbers of Lincoln Cathedral near Dunholme, a few miles north-west of the ancient county capital. British Hardwood Tree Nursery assisted in the supply and planting of the saplings, and the Book of Oaks records the names of the generous donors.

Authoritarian and rancorous in tone, the so-called Black Acts sanctioned the death penalty for 50-plus poaching-related offences. Death was replaced by transportation to the colonies when the Act was repealed a century thereafter. Any Lincolnshire ‘Yellerbelly’ had to be either very desperate or very bold to enter the East Midlands county’s Limewoods in search of game on a moonlit night …

Attitudes have since changed for the better. According to Richard Keymer, Natural England: “Naturalists across the country have known about the unique qualities of the Lincolnshire Limewoods for a long time, but sadly people on the doorstep haven’t. However, as the woodlands are being made more accessible through the scheme, more and more people are now able to appreciate and enjoy this beautiful natural resource.”

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