WESTONBIRT ARBORETUM & THE SILKWOOD BARN
We are incredibly fortunate to be able to run our courses from the heart of Westonbirt, the National Arboretum. We are fortunate too to enjoy the support of the Forestry Commission and its staff at Westonbirt in the running of our courses.
Until this year we have been running our courses in a traditionally oak framed barn built specifically to encourage the development of craft and woodland management skills. As the courses have grown in popularity we had begun to outgrow our beautiful barn so this year we have moved into our fabuluous permanent home pictured on the home page.
The Arboretum is managed by the Forestry Commission as a centre of excellence in arboriculture and research and contains tree collections of international importance.
Westonbirt was started around 1829 and many of the specimens now present date back to that time. The site covers an area of 600acres and includes areas of Ancient Semi Natural Woodland, specimen plants and open grassland. This woodland is an important area in itself as it represents one of the largest areas of woodland of its type in the locality. It is primarily Oak Standards with an understorey of Hazel coppice with some areas of high forest. Some of the work in these areas involves the restoration of this woodland type, which was clearfelled some 60 years ago.
In recognition of its importance Westonbirt is today one of only a handful of Grade One listed landscapes. The Holford family, who started the collection, planted in a picturesque style following the guidelines laid down by W.S.Gilpin. It is the landscape that the Holfords created that give us the grade one listing.
In September 2008, 35 hearty souls picked up traditional hand tools and constructed a medieval-style oak barn deep within the ancient Silk Wood at Westonbirt. This 5-metre tall, sustainable Silk Wood Barn was raised on the sixth day echoing barn building of the past. This project was funded by The Friends Of Westonbirt Arboretum
All the oak had been harvested from the surrounding Westonbirt woodland as part of an on-going programme of woodland restoration. Three thousand shingles for the barn roof were individually made from sweet chestnut and oak, and were nailed on to larch battens through the winter of 2008/9
Photographs of the building of the barn can be found on the 'galleries' page of this website
More information about Westonbirt and events and activities taking place within the arboretum can be found on Westonbirts' website : www.forestryengland.uk/westonbirt
Until this year we have been running our courses in a traditionally oak framed barn built specifically to encourage the development of craft and woodland management skills. As the courses have grown in popularity we had begun to outgrow our beautiful barn so this year we have moved into our fabuluous permanent home pictured on the home page.
The Arboretum is managed by the Forestry Commission as a centre of excellence in arboriculture and research and contains tree collections of international importance.
Westonbirt was started around 1829 and many of the specimens now present date back to that time. The site covers an area of 600acres and includes areas of Ancient Semi Natural Woodland, specimen plants and open grassland. This woodland is an important area in itself as it represents one of the largest areas of woodland of its type in the locality. It is primarily Oak Standards with an understorey of Hazel coppice with some areas of high forest. Some of the work in these areas involves the restoration of this woodland type, which was clearfelled some 60 years ago.
In recognition of its importance Westonbirt is today one of only a handful of Grade One listed landscapes. The Holford family, who started the collection, planted in a picturesque style following the guidelines laid down by W.S.Gilpin. It is the landscape that the Holfords created that give us the grade one listing.
In September 2008, 35 hearty souls picked up traditional hand tools and constructed a medieval-style oak barn deep within the ancient Silk Wood at Westonbirt. This 5-metre tall, sustainable Silk Wood Barn was raised on the sixth day echoing barn building of the past. This project was funded by The Friends Of Westonbirt Arboretum
All the oak had been harvested from the surrounding Westonbirt woodland as part of an on-going programme of woodland restoration. Three thousand shingles for the barn roof were individually made from sweet chestnut and oak, and were nailed on to larch battens through the winter of 2008/9
Photographs of the building of the barn can be found on the 'galleries' page of this website
More information about Westonbirt and events and activities taking place within the arboretum can be found on Westonbirts' website : www.forestryengland.uk/westonbirt
