Windlesham Arboretum

Windlesham Arboretum
Windlesham Arboretum
	Location in Surrey
Type	Arboretum
Location	Windlesham, Surrey
Coordinates	51°21′18″N 0°40′21″W / 51.35500°N 0.67250°W
Area	1 km2 (0.39 sq mi)
Operated by	The Spowers Charitable Trust

Windlesham Arboretum is between the villages of Windlesham and Lightwater in Surrey, United Kingdom. The arboretum features lakes, monuments, follies, a small chapel and approximately 22,000 mature and rare trees. The Windle Brook runs through the arboretum and has seven main footbridges and approximately ten ponds on each side, some of which are more properly identifiable as lakes based on size. The land and lakes, including a scattered number of buildings altogether consist of just over 1 square kilometre (0.39 sq mi).

Features

The arboretum, which is also a fresh water park, is located in the south of the civil parish of Windlesham, where alluvial soils juxtapose, furthest from the brook, with acidic, naturally wet, heath.^[1]

A small percentage of land use is for homes, one of which is a farm, within the bounds, which own small parts of the arboretum as their semi-woodland garden in the style of Gertrude Jekyll, who lived in Surrey for most of her life. One such home is that of Major William Spowers, who founded the Arboretum, and died there in 2009.^{[citation needed]}

Ownership and rules

The arboretum is owned by a charitable trust.^[2] The objects of the charitable trust are to advance education in the study of trees and birds^[3] and access to the arboretum is restricted to educational activities. The public is permitted limited access from four main entry points, spread around the compass, during daylight hours. Picnics, barbecues, cycling and leisure activities other than walking, study and reflection are prohibited. It is patrolled most days, and maintained to ensure its use remains in accordance with the trust's objectives.

Archaeology

An archeological survey of the Arboretum was carried out by the Surrey Heath Archaeological & Heritage Trust^[4] and found coins and pottery and signs of old Iron Age enclosure ditches and Romano-British agricultural buildings.

References

^ Cranfield University National Soil Resources Institute
^ "The Spowers Charitable Trust". Charity Commissioners. Retrieved 7 May 2020.
^ "OpenCharities". Retrieved 12 August 2012.
^ "Windlesham Arboretum project". Surrey Heath Archaeological & Heritage Trust. Retrieved 31 August 2009.

External links

Satellite image of Windlesham Arboretum

Media related to Windlesham arboretum at Wikimedia Commons

[soilscape-1] Cranfield University National Soil Resources Institute

[2] "The Spowers Charitable Trust". Charity Commissioners. Retrieved 7 May 2020.

[3] "OpenCharities". Retrieved 12 August 2012.

[4] "Windlesham Arboretum project". Surrey Heath Archaeological & Heritage Trust. Retrieved 31 August 2009.

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