The people of Northumberland in north-east England are in mourning. They have lost a revered elder, a magnificent sycamore maple, which was hacked down on the night of September 27 in a blatant act of vandalism. The deciduous tree was planted in a dramatic dip between two hills, at the foot of Hadrian's Wall, built by the Romans in the 2nd century to protect themselves from the tribes that dwelled in the northern realms, in what is present-day Scotland. The tree had withstood the elements and human madness for over two centuries. Its lofty silhouette had become legendary after appearing in the film Robin Hood, Prince of Thieves (1991), starring Kevin Costner. Hikers and amateur photographers alike relished the dramatic effect evoked by its thick foliage against a backdrop of tormented skies.
All over the country, the reactions of sadness and anger were in keeping with the affection this great tree aroused. Bouquets, single flowers and emotional notes were laid beside the stump, and the news media filmed live broadcasts there. "People have been so horrified by it. Everyone, from the urban center of Newcastle to rural areas, has been so shocked that someone would do something so brutal to a piece of nature," reacted Helen-Ann Hartley, the Anglican bishop of Newcastle, the nearest city. While police initially interviewed a 16-year-old boy and then a 69-year-old man, and seized a chainsaw from a farm near the wall, they are refusing to give further details of the ongoing investigation and possible motives for this ecocide.
The sycamore maple was a source of pride for people in this county, at one time an Anglo-Saxon kingdom and then an industrial powerhouse, now one of the poorest regions in the UK. "People have gone there and it brought joy to them, people have left their ashes there when they’ve died, they’ve got married there, and all kinds of lovely events have taken place," said Brian Blessed, the actor who played Lord Locksley in Robin Hood.
This act of brazen vandalism is "unbearable," said author and historian Dan Jackson, from Northumberland. " I haven’t felt a loss like this since the medieval beams of Notre Dame came crashing down in 2019," he added. On a more positive note, Andrew Poad, head of the National Trust (the British charity responsible for preserving historic monuments and sites), said that the stump remained "healthy" and that shoots could reappear.
The outpouring of emotion from the British speaks volumes about their attachment to trees, which also occupy a special place in Celtic tales and myths, particularly the oak, the tree of the Druids, symbol of power and gateway to the other world. It is common for people to post their "tree of the day" on social networks, as they travel around the country. BBC Radio 4 devoted the month of June to gathering listeners' testimonials about their "favorite tree," and the Woodland Trust, the leading association dedicated to the conservation of Britain's woodland heritage, organizes an annual competition to find the country's most beautiful specimen.
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