Ingatestone - Ashleigh Court (Essex)

These two, in Ashleigh Court, Station Lane, may not be the finest examples of Giant Redwood, but they are a little unusual in their location. As can be seen from the picture, they are nestled in front of a block of flats. Obviously, the trees pre-date the buildings which surround them so cosily, so it is interesting to consider what their surroundings were many decades ago. A large house and grounds perhaps? Or maybe a public building which an imaginative employee or official fronted with these then novel wonders of nature. If you have the answer, we would love to hear from you. Thanks to Mike who provided us with this information: "I blundered into your site by accident as I was looking for information about Ingatestone Station. I was amazed to see the details of the two big trees that I look at every day from my bedroom window! My house, in The Paddocks, backs on to Ashleigh Court. There used to be a third redwood in Ashleigh Court but it suffered badly in the storm of 1987 and was subsequently felled. I had two very aged trees in my garden, but one started to die back severely and was felled about four years ago. The remaining tree is not as grand as the fellows you have pictured but is very similar. There used to be quite a line of assorted redwoods and conifers following the line of the railway wall. I suspect they were planted after the Great Eastern Railway was built in the 1840's as a separation between the orchards and the railway. The orchards were sold for housing development in the late 1950's These trees are now in private gardens, but age is against them and a fair number have gone in the 25 years I have lived here. "

Common Names and Latin Name	No.	Latitude and Longitude		OS National Grid	Elevation (above sea-level)	Height	Girth	Date Measured
		WGS84	OSGB36
Giant Redwood, Wellingtonia Sequoiadendron giganteum	1	N51.66670 E0.38190	N51.66650 E0.38357	TQ 64820 99155	215ft (65.6m)	26.3m 22m	4.39m 3.93m	November 2011 March 2005
	2	N51.66653 E0.38198	N51.66603 E0.38365	TQ 64827 99103	194ft (59.2m)	24.8m 19m	4.24m 3.89m	November 2011 March 2005
Girth was measured at 1.5 metres from ground