PRESS RELEASE 4 April 2005

COMMEMORATIVE NELSON GROVE

A grove of young oak trees has been planted in the Forest of Dean, west Gloucestershire, to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the death of Admiral Lord Nelson at the Battle of Trafalgar.

“All over Britain there may be similar plantings but here in the Dean the event has particular significance because of the forest’s strong links with Britain’s most famous admiral,” said Rob Guest, Deputy Surveyor.

Lord Nelson visited the area in 1802.  When he realised that the supply of oak trees for building future warships of the line was totally inadequate he wrote a report to parliament asking for the forest to be replanted.  An Act of Parliament followed and a planting boom followed, so that today the Dean has the largest area of oak trees more than 150 years old in Britain and those famous old trees form a wonderful conservation resource. 

Last year oak timber from those ‘Napoleonic ‘ plantings was felled nearby and was transported from the Dean to Portsmouth to restore part of Nelson’s ship of the line, HMS Victory. 

The acorns for the new planting were collected locally and grown on in the Forestry Commissions’ nursery in Delamere, Cheshire.  The 500 young trees were then brought back to the forest for this very special planting.        

The Nelson Grove has been created in the appropriately named Acorn Patch, in Speech House Inclosure, in the centre of the Forest of Dean.  

Throughout the area there are other links with the Napoleonic Wars.  There was a mine named after the sea battle of Trafalgar and a later battle is commemorated at Waterloo Screens after the defeat of Napoleon by Wellington at Waterloo. Near Monmouth The Kymin also has strong links with the 1802 visit of Lord Nelson and lady Hamilton.

“Later this year, on 21 October, the actual anniversary of the Battle Trafalgar, we are planning a community planting of an avenue of 200 oak trees,” explained Rob Guest.

“Representatives from local organisations, societies and authorities will be joining in to create the Trafalgar Avenue.   As a result of the planting of the Nelson Grove and Trafalgar Avenue, the long historical links between the Forest of Dean and Admiral Lord Nelson will be perpetuated.”

To find out more about the Forestry Commission and its many activities log on to www.forestry.gov.uk.

Issued by Val Long, Forest Enterprise, Bank House,

 Coleford, Glos. GL16 8BA            Tel. 01594 833057