Forum Topic

Chiswick House tree pruning

How is it that the trees from Dukes Avenue entrance to the house grounds have been allowed to be cut back so drastically? The government bangs on about preserving wildlife - well there will be no birds roosting in those fabulous listed trees for years. It looks terrible and is not good for the environment. I suspect whoever allowed this thought they were saving money cutting them back so much. Where does the money for the likes of ‘Pub in the Park’ go if not to the proper maintenance of this national treasure. Probably being spent on painting more rainbows on our roads…

Lisa Omlie ● 361d10 Comments

"The linked article on the Chiswick House website explains why they are pollarding - to ensure the long-term health of the trees and the safety of the visitors."It's so annoying when someone goes to the effort of finding out the facts only to remove the post's drama, isn't it?

Mike Smith ● 353d

I walk around the park most days and I’m so surprised to see all the trees, plants bushes cut down,  never seen it like this in years, I wish someone would explain why ? Also the children’s play area is so neglected why? They must have so much income from the events they hold in the park weddings, pub in the park etc it’s such a shame It surely wouldn’t take that much to redo the play area yet they are asking for donation from the public 😢

Debbie Harewood ● 354d

The linked article on the Chiswick House website explains why they are pollarding - to ensure the long-term health of the trees and the safety of the visitors.It's not a cost saving exercise - in fact they are looking to raise funds to continue the work.https://chiswickhouseandgardens.org.uk/2024/02/13/dukes-avenue-lime-trees-pollarding-works/

Anna John ● 355d

It does look a bit 'Bald' in there at the moment but I suspect it will grow back pretty quickly, maybe not this Summer though but we shall see. Very alarming pruning/pollarding next to the cafe too.

Chris Blackwell ● 355d

It’s certainly the case that there has been a lot of drastic tree felling in the gardens of Chiswick House. Right or wrong, I don’t know, I’m not an expert horticulturist. However, the gardens belong to us all, not just the person making these decisions. I feel there should have been some publicised talks by the head gardener explaining why this was necessary. Might have saved a lot of ill feeling.

Lesley Thorne ● 355d

So, Chiswick House is responsible for rainbow crossings? It's so woke. It's the government banging on about wildlife. It's the Council.  It's Chiswick House. It's the Pub in the Park. It's the ruination of a national treasure. It’s madness.  And those birds with nowhere, I tell you, nowhere to roost.

Stewart Jones ● 360d

A lot of small branches fall off the lime trees in Dukes Avenue. Not big enough to kill you but some are big enough to hurt if they hit you. Probably big enough to do more than that to a young child or a baby in a push chair.Limes grow very fast. There are much nicer trees I would rather see

david ward ● 361d

Are they lime trees?If so they need pollarding every four years otherwise the weight of branches can become a hazard. Wouldn’t want limbs falling on unsuspecting visitors. It’s still te correct time of year to do this work as the trees are dormant. The new growth will appear soon enough and will spread pretty quickly. It might look unsightly now but so do roses after proper pruning.

Simon Hayes ● 361d

I couldn't agree more. I was horrified. It looks like a Paul Nash painting on the lime avenue now. The area round the old badger sett has been stripped so no cover to prevent soil erosion or provide a habitat and food.Chiswick House grounds as an 18thC theme park with minimal maintenance. No doubt that it will be justified somehow just as they tread to excuse hacking down the wisteria in the Italian gardens.There are quite a few films and television programmes that were filmed in the grounds. Looking back even as recently as the 1980s, it is possible to see how poor it is now by comparison.Removing the litter bins doesn't help either.

Charlotte Kasner ● 361d

What evidence to you have for your suspicions that this was done for financial reasons? There are trained arboculturalists working at Chiswick House and it is recognised that sometimes quite agressive pollarding is necessary for the long term health of trees. What did the Trust say when you asked them about the reasons for taking this action?

Felicity Caborn ● 361d