Hello again, fellow tree enthusiasts, lovers of history, and devotees of our incredible county, Shropshire.

Last time, we delved into the enduring, inspiring spirit of trees and how they shape my work here at Heartwood of Bridgnorth. In a world that often feels unnerving and just a little out of our control, whether we are conscious of it or not, we instinctively crave a connection to nature, to the earth, to our very roots, it is how we find our balance. We are, after all, part of the earth, just like the trees.

I believe our ever-increasing reliance on technology and the online world has created a profound disconnect that is having a detrimental effect on our mental well-being. We’ve allowed the pursuit of profit and its inevitable distractions to pull us away from our natural world, jeopardising both it and ourselves in the process. But simple actions can benefit us and the environment around us. A small shift in focus allows us to reconnect to ourselves and our planet, and an easy, first step is simply by noticing and spending time with our trees.

Luckily, here in Shropshire, we are surrounded by them! However, it is essential that these woodlands are managed correctly, both for their success and for ours.

This is why the brilliant work being done by organisations like Smallwoods at the Greenwood Centre, near Ironbridge, is so close to my heart. They are keeping the vital traditions of good woodland stewardship alive and at the same time using green social prescribing to support the local community. I'm incredibly proud of my connection to them and will be sharing more about this essential work in the future with a new initiative, the Green Heart Partnership.

Later in this series, I’ll be exploring the absurdity of why we import so much timber instead of utilising our own sustainably sourced, well-managed local Shropshire wood, but today it’s all about the history.

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A Journey Through Time with Shropshire’s Sentinels

Let's explore some of the oldest and most fascinating ancient trees Shropshire has to offer and see how deeply they are intertwined with human history.

Our journey begins way back, perhaps around 700 BC, when the Norbury Yew was taking root in the Stiperstones area. Standing in the churchyard of All Saints in Norbury, this tree is thought to be around 2,700 years old. Can you imagine? It was a vigorous sapling during the British Iron Age, when massive hill forts like The Wrekin were being constructed. It is truly one of the largest and oldest yews in Britain, a magnificent living monument.

Fast forward a thousand years or so to around 200 - 400 AD. This is when Shropshire’s Druids considered natural forces to thrive in sacred places, especially in oak groves. These were their original temples not just a space, but a real religious sanctuary. There were also thought to be the first "Woodhenges"! We often picture ancient stone sites, but the earliest sacred circles were thought to be in woodland clearings, made of upright timber trunks. This shows that wood wasn't just used; it was revered. Even the simple act of tree dressing, tying a cloth to a sacred tree as a prayer is an ancient custom that persists to this day.

Leaping forward to the Anglo-Saxon Age, around 525 AD, we find the magnificent Church Preen Yew. I first discovered this beautiful tree while watching the amazing band Whalebone play in the gorgeous church. Thought to be about 1,500 years old, this tree was already a sentinel during the Age of Arthur and the early settlement of the Kingdom of Mercia. Imagine the generations it has watched pass by!

By 1265, trees were serving as vital markers for human affairs. The Ronsack Oak in Acton Round, just outside Bridgnorth, was already an ancient pollarded oak used as a boundary marker, standing as a reliable point of reference when Simon de Montfort’s War led to the establishment of the first English Parliament.

Just a century later, around 1375 AD, the colossal Attingham Oak was taking shape in what is now Attingham Park near Shrewsbury. This majestic oak, now about 650 years old, was already massive while Richard II was on the throne of England.

It’s around this time, that vast swathes of Shropshire, including areas like Morfe near Bridgnorth, along with Wyre and Clee, were designated as Royal Forests. By the 13th century, sophisticated methods like coppicing and pollarding were in use, ensuring a steady, sustainable supply of wood.

The power of the trees is best seen in moments of high drama, such as the famous Battle of Shrewsbury in 1403. Legend has it that the Welsh leader Owain Glyndŵr used the Shelton Oak as a lookout point during the battle. Even if the original tree has fallen, the legend reminds us how these giants are interwoven with the big moments of our history.

Finally, we come to a different kind of sentinel: the future-thinking plantings of the Georgian era. In 1740, the spectacular Linley Hills Historic Avenue was planted. The beech trees on top of Linley Hill were put there because people were thinking about the long term. That kind of enduring view is crucial in responsible forestry, and it’s exactly what the old Greek proverb meant by: "A society grows great when old men plant trees whose shade they know they shall never sit in."

And though it’s only a memory now, the Bridgnorth Pine, that iconic Corsican Pine that stood on Underhill Street for over a century reminds us of the importance of urban trees and the necessity of managing them with both love and caution.

The Cost of Speed

When you look at the timescale of these trees, the human timeline can feel dizzying. An English Oak takes 150 to 300 years just to reach what we class as veteran status, and it will live for centuries more. The Norbury Yew has taken over 2,700 years to stand where it is today, witnessing the rise and fall of countless human societies. Our growth, by contrast, has become exponentially fast. While humanity spent millennia slowly clearing forests for agriculture, half of all global forest loss has occurred in just the last century. We are destroying environments at a pace that these ancient souls, our longest-standing sentinels, could never have imagined.

Our Green Guardians

When I think about these trees, the Bronze Age Yew, the Druid’s Oak, the boundary markers of medieval Britain, I see more than just wood and leaf. They are the silent guardians of our history, the witnesses to the entire evolution of mankind in this county. They watched us rise from building wood circles to casting metal, from farming the land to fighting our battles. They are the constant, unwavering presence against the fleeting background of our human lives.

In a time when we are more digitally connected yet more spiritually isolated than ever before, these ancient souls stand as a powerful, constant reminder of where our true connection lies: in the earth, not in the cloud.

It is time to remember the lessons they embody. It is time to unplug, step away from the pursuit of distraction, and walk among our guardians. It is time to remember where we came from and what we must do to keep going forward.

Go find your own sentinel in Shropshire and simply be with it. Let the wisdom of the wood settle your mind and remind you of the resilient, natural being you truly are.

The next chapter of this salute to trees will be an exploration of our literary links to the trees! 

Send me your thoughts, muses and stories of Shropshire’s trees and your connections with them.