Nottingham Arboretum: Exploring the rich history of 'peaceful woodland setting'

NOTTINGHAM’S 19th-century arboretum hit the headlines in March last year when a large number of frustrated young people elated at the prospect of socialising again after weeks of lockdown gathered at the park, overwhelming – and in some instances disrespecting – its seven pristine hectares.

It was not the first time the peace of the arboretum had been disrupted by an influx of unwelcome visitors. Shortly after the facility was established, gangs of youths fuelled by ale consumed at Nottingham’s famous Goose Fair rampaged through the park, causing considerable damage to its trees. At one time it was said that the initials of the miscreants could be read upon the bark of the trees that survived.

Prior to the 1800s Nottingham was famed for its fruit production and market gardens. On its outskirts lay the common land. But as the city’s industrial base gained momentum, traditional rights pertaining to the use of the commons were claimed to hinder its expansion. Informed by urban improvement enclosure measures carried out elsewhere, the advocates of ‘green spaces’ overrode the protests of those anxious to preserve their privileges and secured the Nottingham Enclosure Act (1845).

Today, Nottingham Arboretum fulfils its original brief as a quiet green haven for those living in Nottingham city centre. (Image: FJ)

The legislation permitted common land to be sold off as parcels designated to form what many regarded as one of the most ambitious undertakings of its kind in mid-Victorian Britain. Largely motivated by the local literati and those with scientific interests who wanted to reconnect urban dwellers with nature, Nottingham’s arboretum was to be the showpiece of a sequence of linked green places that also included graveyards and an expanse of Sherwood Forest.

Nottingham Town Council established its arboretum in the mid-1800s on the outskirts of the burgeoning city that straddled the River Trent. Almost 200 years later the site functions as a much-valued city centre amenity.

Today’s city councillors remain committed to the principle that enthused Nottingham arboretum’s founding fathers; that quiet areas of peaceful repose in a calm woodland setting should be available for the relaxation and education of Nottingham’s residents, many of whom found themselves lodging in the cramped terraced accommodation that formed the bulk of the city’s housing stock.

However, at the time of its establishment the arboretum’s location was not within easy walking distance of the abodes of most of the mill workers and their families.

Nevertheless, the facility was to form a blueprint for the large number of public open spaces that would eventually become established as the historic north-Midlands’ city expanded into a busy manufacturing hub.

William Felkin had risen from “rags to riches” to become not only one of Nottingham’s pre-eminent lace manufacturers, but also its mayor. It was at his request the landscape architect Samuel Curtis put pencil to paper and drew up a plan for the prestigious new park. An acclaimed nurseryman, Curtis had once been land agent at Nottinghamshire’s celebrated Clumber Park. Furthermore, his outstanding credentials as a botanist, botanical artist and horticultural publisher had gained him membership of the esteemed Linnaean Society. Carl Linnaeus was an 18th-century Swedish botanist whose outstanding achievement – the development of binary nomenclature – caused him to be described as the “father of modern-day taxonomy”.

Ulmus glabra ‘Camperdownii’. This natural mutant of the native Wych elm was discovered near Dundee shortly before the arboretum at Nottingham was founded. (Image: FJ)

The botanical collection envisaged by Curtis was to include not only tree and shrub species native to Britain but also recently discovered species from other countries.

Planted in the ‘Natural Order’, its specimens would complement a complex of pathways, avenues, raised areas and extensive areas of lush sward. Situated at its lowest point, a water feature was to be fed by a nearby reservoir. £385 was allocated for the purchase of 4,500 trees and shrubs from a local nurseryman.

Curtis’ design did not meet with everyone’s approval; the amount of grassland caused several councillors to describe it as a ‘pleasure ground’. And according to the Nottingham Journal the plan was “too plain”. “Where were the meandering paths, covered walks, waterfalls and ‘novelties’?” Nonetheless, when the arboretum opened on 11 May 1852 the newspaper ran a feature that was mostly favourable and included a description of the arboretum’s layout:

• A central walkway winding through the grounds to the tunnel (subway) and the Eastern Lodge, planted alternately on either side with Cedar of Lebanon and Cedar of Diadorus.

Picea breweriana. The distinctive weeping foliage of Brewer’s spruce is only rarely seen in its native range – the North West American mountains. (Image: FJ)

• Limes planted between the cedars to shelter the young trees until they matured.
• Trees and shrubs planted in alphabetical order of their botanical names beginning with A at the Western Lodge. Porcelain labels were attached.
• The tunnel has been constructed so that a road can go over the top and holly trees planted to break the strong winds that blow through it.

Over 1,000 trees and shrubs had been planted but most of them were not the mature specimens anticipated by the public. It fell to the newspaper to explain that the initial plantings had been carried out with seeds and saplings because the soil composition ruled out the transplantation of bigger trees: 

“Every practical arboriculturist must be aware that when large trees are transplanted there is a considerable risk that they will not thrive due to the sandy soil …”

Transplantation concerns did not, however, prevent the acceptance of a varied parcel of “large and handsome” specimens donated by one of the city’s foremost hosiery and lace manufacturers. Thomas Cullen’s gift included two ‘Monkey puzzles’ (Araucaria imbricata).

This scientific name was invalidly assigned to the emblematic South American conifer by the Spanish botanist Pavón shortly after the tree’s discovery. Under the naming conventions Araucaria araucana should have been given to the species. The confusion was certainly common in Victorian times and still persists to this day.

Metasequoia glyptostroboides. The arboretum was celebrating its hundredth birthday when the Dawn redwood was discovered in southern China in 1941. (Image: FJ)

Curtis had discouraged the planting of too many rare species on the grounds they were unlikely to survive given Nottingham’s then heavily-polluted atmosphere. But those ambitions to create one of England’s foremost arboretums were not to be thwarted. As had been predicted, not all of the expensive rarities they insisted on planting survived.

At the time of writing, the arboretum is said to have approximately 830 trees. Most of Britain’s native trees are represented, as are other species from the northern hemisphere’s temperate zones. Prompted by warnings of global warming, more trees native to the southern hemisphere have been introduced.

169 years after the arboretum’s opening several original specimens are still to be appreciated:

• The London Plane (Platanus x hispanica) is understood to have originated due to cross-pollination between an American sycamore and an Oriental plane planted in a London-based botanist’s nursery. The large example seen at Nottingham Arboretum may be approaching its second century but it is said to be flourishing.
• Italian alder (Alnus cordata) is a quick-growing, multi-purpose tree able to improve soil fertility through symbiotic nitrogen fixation. Considered to have potential for biomass production, in its native realm the tree has served as a shelter species for wild cherry and walnut in intensive forest tree-farming trials.

Nottingham Arboretum’s Tree Trail features 36 specimens. Visitors in possession of a well-drawn and explicit map are able to appreciate native species including the Purple/Copper beech (Fagus sylvatica Atropurpurea Group) and the Common hornbeam (Carpinus betulus). Also Cypress oak (Quercus robur f. fastigiata), a natural variant of the Pendunculate or English oak. Lime varieties (Tilia x europaea) serve as avenue trees.

Cut-leaf Alder (Alnus glutinosa ‘Laciniata’). This particular foliage variant originated in early 19th-century France, but the species is a British native. (Image: FJ)

Species native to other areas of the world invite speculation on the part of questioning onlookers. Why, for example, is the Chinese Maidenhair tree (Ginkgo biloba) described as a living fossil? And for what reason does Picea Breweriana, Brewer’s spruce from the north-west USA, develop a pendulous form and flexible branches?

There are many more species to be admired, but the arboretum’s Victorian founders intended that its 7 ha should feature more than trees and shrubs. In maturity the well-maintained area also evidences Nottingham’s history and culture. Given these current unpredictable dystopian times it is to be hoped that no more events such as that of March 2021 will disturb the ‘quiet place of repose in a peaceful woodland setting’ that is Nottingham Arboretum.