Medieval, Trees

The history of the present woodland in Britain starts about 11 000 BC and the only evidence we have about this time is from remains of trees. Sometimes these remains are actual wood, but most information has been gathered from pollen grains found in peat deposits across the country. Pollen grains can be dated, using carbon dating.

The first wave of colonisation was by birch, aspen and sallow. About 8 500 BC. pine and hazel spread northwards, replacing the birch which became uncommon. The pine colonisation was followed by a wave of oak and alder. Lime and elm followed this, then holly, ash, beech, hornbeam and maple.

If a tree falls in a forest, and there is nobody there to hear it, does it make a noise?

Although there would have been some local variations, the general picture that we can trace from the pollen records shows that the extreme north of Scotland was still tundra and practically treeless like northern Norway and Sweden today. The north west Highlands of Scotland were mainly covered by Birch forests, whereas the eastern Highlands were covered by Pine. The rest of Scotland, northern England, the north midlands, most of Wales and the south west were dominated by Oak and Hazel forest.

Trees Oak Elm Yew Ash Beech Native British Christmas Tree