inscribed and dated "Burnham Beeches Sunday Sept 12 1858" and signed with initials "LWT"
Tom and Laura Taylor and thence by descent
Burnham Beeches is a 374.6-hectare (926-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest situated west of Farnham Common in the village of Burnham, Buckinghamshire. The southern half is owned by the Corporation of London and is open to the public. It is also a National Nature Reserve and a Special Area of Conservation.
Burnham Beeches came into ownership of the City of London Corporation after the land came up for auction in 1879. The auction followed the death of the land owner who had permitted public access. It's special status was recognised and discussed in the House of Commons. The land failed to sell at the auction. Subsequently Sir Henry Peek purchased the land at the reserve price £12,000. Sir Henry Peek sold 374 acres (151 hectares) to the City of London Corporation (£6,000), retaining the "enclosed" portion of the land of 175 acres (71 hectares). Purchase was funded from duties levied on grain landed at the Port of London. Money was also spent on roads to improve access (estimated cost £500), one of these is named after Sir Henry. At this time local authorities were encouraged to provide open spaces with public access to provide some relief from polluted towns and cities. (Summarised from Hansard and various contemporary newspaper reports.)
The largely beech woodland has been regularly pollarded, with many trees now several hundred years old. Their age, and the amount of deadwood in and around them, means that the woodland is rich in wildlife. More than sixty of the species of plants and animals here are either rare or under threat nationally. The area is protected as a National Nature Reserve, Site of Special Scientific Interest and a candidate Special Area of Conservation.
Seven Ways Plain hill fort is located in the south west part of Burnham Beeches. it is a rare example of a single rampart earthwork used either as a stock enclosures or possibly places of refuge. It comprises a range of earthworks which have been dated to the Late Bronze Age and Early Iron Age. It is a Scheduled Monument.
The close proximity of Pinewood, Shepperton and Bray Studios and the outstanding natural beauty of the Beeches have made it a desirable filming location. Robin Hood Prince of Thieves, The Crying Game, First Knight, Goldfinger, The Princess Bride, the 1952 Disney film The Story of Robin Hood and His Merrie Men, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1, Maleficent: Mistress of Evil, Horrible Histories: The Movie, and the Doctor Who story State of Decay are some of the films and TV productions that have been shot at Burnham Beeches.
Filming is tightly controlled in recognition of the Beeches' international importance for wildlife. Filming is restricted to no more than twenty days per year and to certain times of year. Filming in environmentally sensitive areas has also been banned. Revenue from filming goes directly to fund the upkeep and management of the Beeches.
The historic Burnham Beeches have been described as one of the finest surviving woodland tracts anywhere in Britain, with a particular history of pollarding - the removal of timber from growing trees.
In the Domesday Book, the manor of Burnham is recorded as belonging to 'Walter, son of Other'. Upon Walter's demise, his son William took possession of the manor, as well as a new soon-to-be auspicious surname -- Windsor. The manor remained in the family's possession until 1204, when it was split between two new owners. An abbey was founded there in 1266, and in 1271 the abbess was granted a formal market, to take place on Thursdays. Strategically situated between London, Oxford and Bath, Burnham was ideally situated to take advantage of through traffic between the major towns, with the abbey often taking on the role of overnight resting station. The commerce brought with these travellers turned Burnham from a village into a bustling town, which it remained until the building of a bridge in neighboring Maidenhead, when that town began to prosper at Burnham's expense.
The historic parish church of St Peter can be found off the Burnham's High St, an ancient building with a fine 13th century tower that also boasts several wonderful stained glass pieces. Burnham Abbey also still stands, possibly thanks to being briefly owned by William Tyndale (1495-1536), the man who translated the Bible into English.
The Beeches are north of the village, reached via Hogfair Lane to the left of the High Street, then left into Britwell Rd and left once more onto Grove Road, which will eventually lead right into the ancient woodland. From there, one can either delve left onto Pumpkin Hill, or right, passed the office building and into the Lord Mayor's Drive (with the enigmatically named Druid's Oak on the right-hand side) or continue on the peripheral road -- Hawthorn Lane. The average age of the pollarded trees is estimated to be well in excess of 400 years. The largest tree, probably also the oldest, is the "Druid's Oak" -- almost certainly greater than 800 years old.
At 540 acres, the interior of the Beeches offers many easy walks as well as chances for some sly comparisons to the locations of many comparatively recent movies. Burnham Beeches is in fact a favorite location shoot, having stood in for Sherwood Forest in Robin Hood, Prince of Thieves, an Irish woodland in The Crying Game, ancient generic England in First Knight and Ivanhoe, and even a more tropical setting in A Town Like Alice. Off to the left of Park Lane lies Dorney Wood, a favorite haunt of footpads during the reign of Henry VIII. The entire area around Burnham was inundated with highwaymen during the Middle Ages, so much so that it was said that the Vicar of nearby Hurley got danger money for riding through the region. Further along on the right is a convenient parking area for those interested in viewing Hardicanute's Moat, a diamond-shaped earthwork of unknown origin.
In the far north-west corner of Burnham Beeches is the hamlet of Egypt. Why it was christened after the country in Northern Africa is also lost in history, but this pleasant little hamlet is another attractive reason to tarry awhile around the Buckinghamshire/Berkshire border.
The Burnham Beeches are the remnants of a vast forest that once covered almost the entire county of Buckinghamshire.
It is owned and managed by the Corporation of London who, in 1880, bought the woodland to save it from prospective developers.
Bounded by Windsor, Maidenhead and Slough, Burnham Beeches are within the area around London protected from further encroachment by the Green Belt. The Beeches, covering 220 hectares, are famous for ancient beech and oak pollards and the range of flora and fauna associated with old trees and decaying wood. It is a National Nature Reserve (NNR) and European Special Area of Conservation (SAC), famous for having the largest collection of old beech trees in the world.
Much of Burnham Beeches was once wood pasture. Cut in the past for wood fuel for local use, the site’s pollarded trees were abandoned approximately 200 years ago, resulting in very heavy branches on fragile stems. Many of the estimated 3,000 original trees have been lost as they have fallen over or fallen apart so now only around 420 remain. The City of London is working to re-establish the ancient techniques and restoring the old, lapsed pollards, as well as finding out new methods to create new pollards to help bridge the gap with the veterans.
The average age of the pollarded trees is estimated to be well in excess of 400 years. The largest tree, probably also the oldest, is the "Druid's Oak" -- almost certainly greater than 800 years old.
At 540 acres, the interior of the Beeches offers many easy walks as well as the chance to spot the locations of many movies and TV productions, as Burnham Beeches is a favourite location shoot, having stood in for Sherwood Forest in Robin Hood, Prince of Thieves, an Irish woodland in The Crying Game, ancient generic England in First Knight and Ivanhoe, and even a more tropical setting in A Town Like Alice.
The entire area was the haunt of highwaymen during the Middle Ages, so much so that it was said that the Vicar of nearby Hurley got danger money for riding through the region. One of the three Scheduled Ancient Monuments on the site shows inhabitation as early as the Iron Age. Hardicanute's Moat is a diamond-shaped earthwork of unknown origin.
Gnarled beeches, natural ponds and abundant wildlife create what has been described as a fairy tale-like atmosphere - particularly in autumn.
Visitor numbers to Burnham Beeches are currently regarded as unsustainably high, and this is causing substantial damage to this unique ancient woodland. To help protect the National Nature Reserve, the amount of available car parking has been reduced.
Laura Wilson Barker (6 March 1819 – 22 May 1905), was a composer, performer and artist, sometimes also referred to as Laura Barker, Laura W Taylor or "Mrs Tom Taylor".
She was born in Thirkleby, North Yorkshire, third daughter of a clergyman, the Rev. Thomas Barker. She studied privately with Cipriani Potter and became an accomplished pianist and violinist. As a young girl Barker performed with both Louis Spohr and Paganini. She began composing in the mid-1830s - her Seven Romances for voice and guitar were published in 1837. From around 1843 until 1855 she taught music at York School for the Blind. During this period some of her compositions - including a symphony in manuscript, on 19 April 1845 - were performed at York Choral Society concerts.
On 19 June 1855 she married the English dramatist, critic, biographer, public servant, and editor of Punch magazine Tom Taylor. Barker contributed music to at least one of her husband's plays, an overture and entr'acte to Joan of Arc (1871), and provided harmonisations as an appendix to his translation of Ballads and Songs of Brittany (1865).
Her other works include the cantata Enone (1850), the violin sonata A Country Walk (1860), theatre music for As You Like It, (April 1880), Songs of Youth (1884), string quartets, madrigals and solo songs. Her choral setting of Keats's A Prophecy, composed in 1850, was performed for the first time 49 years later at the Hovingham Festival in 1899. The composer was present.
Several of Barker's paintings hang at Smallhythe Place in Kent, Ellen Terry's house.
Barker lived with her husband and family at 84 Lavender Sweep, Battersea. There were two children: the artist John Wycliffe Taylor (1859–1925), and Laura Lucy Arnold Taylor (1863–1940). The Sunday musical soirees at the house attracted many well-known attendees, including Lewis Carroll, Charles Dickens, Henry Irving, Charles Reade, Alfred Tennyson, Ellen Terry and William Makepeace Thackeray.
Tom Taylor died suddenly at his home in 1880 at the age of 62. After his death, his widow retired to Porch House, Coleshill in Buckinghamshire, where she died on 22 May 1905, aged 86.