Kingston Stroll #10: History Pt.7 | Forked in the Fine Fagus
This is the last of a 10-cache series which takes you from the heart of the village through the fields and along the farm lanes of the Swanborough area immediately to the east. The 3.5km circuit can be completed in under 2 hours allowing for necessary cache and optional short bird-watching, photographic and refreshment stops en route.
The cache, a camo-taped preform tube, is hidden in this fine old tree - one of three in this grassy area between the road and residences.
Heading back into the village and completing the circuit, this final cache continues and concludes its history.
. . . At the same time there was also more scattered development of new detached houses along Wellgreen Lane towards Lewes. Also in the 1920s, the rising population meant that there was a greater demand for burial space in the churchyard and a thatched barn, which had stood in front of St Pancras Church, was demolished. In 1955 the Juggs Public House opened in a small cottage at the eastern end of The Street.
In the 1960s and 1970s new housing estates were added immediately to the north-west of the village, and in 1965 a new primary school was built in Wellgreen Lane. The former farm buildings behind Hollowdown Cottages were converted, rather insensitively, at about this time, including some new development. The expansion of the village coincided with the development of Sussex University and many of the new residents were associated with the academic world.
The creation of two large public open spaces, St Pancras Green and The Village Green, has created a useful buffer between the historic part of the settlement and more modern development, as has the retention of a stand of large trees behind St Pancras Church. In the last few years Kingston has largely retained its rural qualities although there has been constant pressure for new development.
Kingston Farm is still the centre of a family-run business although the more modern agricultural buildings behind Old Holdings Farmhouse appear to be only partly used for storage. The Juggs Public House is located in an early listed building on the north side of The Street and is a very popular venue, although its success has unfortunately resulted in the original tiny cottage being substantially extended over the years. Kingston Village Hall, built in the 1930s, is well used and the centre of village life.
St Pancras Church also still provides spiritual support to the local population, and is well supported. Despite the provision of so much new housing, the village retains a strong sense of community although sadly the former Post Office and shop closed a few years ago so there are no local facilities. The Parish Council has recently applied to East Sussex County District to have St Pancras Green, The Village Green and Snedmore officially designated as 'Village Greens', which will provide stronger protection from unsuitable development.
The cache tree is a lovely mature (common) beech (Fagus sylvatica), one of our most popular and iconic trees, widespread in woodlands, towns and gardens. It is unusual in being considered native only in SE England but it is commonly planted and found throughout the UK.
It grows tall and broad, turning a shining golden-brown in autumn as its leaves die, littering the (woodland) floor with its nuts (known as 'mast'). It has shiny, soft, oval leaves; smooth, grey bark; torpedo-shaped buds; and large, hairy fruit that contain the beech nuts.
Its wood is used for furniture and ornaments and from the C18 onwards, straight-trunked, uncoppiced trees - ideal for timber - became a more frequent sight in woods and parks.
It has been cultivated for many years, and there are several beautiful varieties, including the deep red Copper beech. Interestingly, all beech trees have the genetic potential to be purple, but the gene is usually ‘switched off’, so each year the tree produces green leaves. The naturally occurring mutation appears spontaneously, without human interference. In some few beech woods a copper beech may be found growing among green beeches.
Another abnormality that sometimes occurs is clear ripples in the bark running right up the trunk. One
'rippled beech' can be spotted among other beeches growing normally. The cause isn’t really known but theories include internal damage when the tree is young, water stress or hormone issues. In spite of this such trees appear to grow otherwise normally.
Beech trees can live for up to 300 years (over 1,000 if coppiced) and provide valuable food and homes for many species. The bark is often home to a variety of fungi, mosses and lichens, and seeds are eaten by mice, voles, squirrels and birds. Moth caterpillars enjoy munching through the leaves, including clay triple-lines and olive crescent. Beech woodland also makes an important habitat for many butterflies. Beech nuts are edible for humans and livestock. For centuries they were fed to pigs in autumn to fatten them up.
As a beech tree can live for 100s of years, it can provide important habitat for deadwood specialists like hole-nesting birds and wood-boring insects.
Famous beech trees: in Ballymoney, County Antrim, an avenue of ancient beech trees known as The Dark Hedges is one of the most photographed spots in Northern Ireland. The 247 year old avenue became famous after featuring as the Kings Road in the TV series Game of Thrones making the beeches some of the best known in the world.
Nearly 100 years ago, Vic Stead grafted three beech saplings together to form the letter N, for his sweetheart Nellie who he went on to marry. The tree still stands at Aberford east of Leeds and was voted the UK Tree of the Year in 2018 (see article here). See here for more info on this wonderful tree.