Helping restore Clipsham Yew Tree Avenue
Earlier this year, the Clipsham Yew Tree Avenue Trust (CYTAT) received some fantastic news: a generous £114,600 grant from the National Heritage Lottery Fund. The funding means they can keep the Avenue looking spectacular for years to come and can focus on how best to care for this very special place.
It’s always been their aim to get more local people involved in the hands-on care of the magnificent trees, so they got in contact with EBTS UK, as topiary experts, to get advice on how to restore the “yew-nique” designs and keep the trees healthy.
Maintaining awareness and longevity in the protection and preservation of such heritage assets is critical, not only for the community but also for the nation. Considering Clipsham Yew Tree Avenue’s individual status within the UK heritage scene
External National Heritage Lottery Evaluator, Graham Hackett (Osprey Delivers)
Pictures by Helen Sismore, CYTA Trust
On Saturday 20 September, two topiary training workshops were held, and they were a huge success. Twenty-five enthusiastic people came from Clipsham, Castle Bytham, and even further afield. EBTS UK’s Darren Lerigo (Modern Mint) and Chris Poole provided the training.
It was great for Darren and me, as part of the European Boxwood and Topiary Society (UK), to assist in bringing back clarity and finesse to some of the designs in the avenue’s yew trees
Chris Poole, Former EBTS UK Chairman
Both workshops were went well with the forecast rain staying away and everyone enjoying and engaging with the content. EBTS’s top topiary training kit was available for the attendees so they could try out high-quality shears and secateurs from Niwaki & ARS, and even better, everyone learned how to properly clean and sharpen their own tools. Which was a real eye-opener for many!
Darren and Chris then shared their topiary techniques and tips, assigning everyone a tree to practice technique and get to work clipping.
“The sessions were so enjoyable and informative, with lots of great questions and answers flowing between the tutors and participants. It was a lot of fun, and we all learned so much! The best part? We now have many more local people with the skills and knowledge to help secure even greater community involvement with the Avenue.”
Helen Sismore, Trustee
‘The topiary training event was a brilliant success all round. Both workshops were fully engaging, fun, and informative,where all participants learnt a lot and were able to get a real handle on what it takes to topiary. This is a real positive first for Clipsham Yew Tree Avenue Trust, and it would be great to do it again next year.’
Patrick Candler, Chairman of Clipsham Yew Tree Avenue Trust
In addition to starting the restoration work on some of the yew trees Chris & Darren also created two new designs one of which will be revealed next year and the other was the National Heritage Lottery Fund logo. Both are a work in progress as it takes a couple of years worth of growth to get the density needed to show off the relief work.
