The sad demise of the Hardy Tree

A couple of days ago I heard the sad news that the Hardy Tree has fallen down. 

I've visited the tree - which stood in Old St Pancras Church Yard in London - a few times in the past 40 years.

When King's Cross Station was being built, part of the the graveyard needed to be relocated. The Bishop of London, in whose diocese it fell, asked that whatever human remains were still on site be exhumed. The job of organising this fell to Covent Garden architect Arthur Blomfield (1829-1899) who, in turn, assigned the job to his assistant, the young Thomas Hardy (1840 - 1928) - this was before he'd written his great masterpieces, such as Far From The Madding Crowd, The Mayor Of Casterbridge and Tess Of The d'Urbervilles. 

Hardy was only 20 but he decided that something needed to be done to memorialise the effects of what modernity could do to humanity - he didn't like to see old things destroyed in the name of progress. And so he supervised the dismantling of many of the churchyard's tombs and the disinterment and re-internment of their occupants and then, as a monument to the past, he arranged a large number of their tombstones in a decorative ring around a substantial ash tree. And, in time, and as the author's fame grew, it became known as the Hardy Tree.

However, in July this year, the Camden New Journal reported that the tree was likely to fall, having been weakened by a storm and by disease. 'We are looking at ways to commemorate this tree, and its story, when it does eventually fall.' a town hall statement read. 'The council recognises the importance of the veteran Hardy Tree, both for our local communities and nationally, which is why we’ve taken measures over the last eight years to manage this stage of its lifecycle, keeping it safe for visitors.' 

However, despite shoring up and removing much of the crown,  the tree has now fallen.

Image: Simon Lamrock via Twitter. 

I hope they find some way to memorialise the Hardy Tree. One option suggested by the Thomas Hardy Society involves growing a new tree from cuttings of the original - although it remains to be seen whether this was carried out in time while the tree was still healthy enough. 'If not, hopefully some other memorial will be put in place instead,' says Dr Hayes, spokesperson for the Society. 'The tree's demise is particularly poignant given the recurring themes of life, death and industrial growth in Hardy's works. At the time when he placed the gravestones at the base of the tree towns and communities were being bulldozed due to the advance of the railways. I think he would be quite sad to see what's happened to the tree. The poetic take is that it grew from a seed dropped by a bird that was flying over the gravestones. Hardy was a great believer in everything being sentient - he wouldn't even let the gardener at Max Gate (the author's former home near Dorchester) prune the trees - and so they were all massively overgrown.' 

She added that if Thomas Hardy were alive he would probably prefer to see a nature-related memorial, rather than a plaque or statue, as he wasn't a huge one for commemoration of self. 'As cliched as it sounds he would probably prefer another tree to be planted, or a garden of some sort,' she said.

Trees are long-lived but they are mortal, sadly. I wonder how long it will be before this one in Victoria Embankment Gardens finally succumbs to gravity? I used to walk past it every day on my way to work at New Scotland Yard.

I have no idea if it has an official name but I always called it the 'Dali Tree' as it is held up with crutches and reminded me of the strange being in Dali's painting Sleep.

I'll be sad to see that one fall too.