Windlesham Arboretum

Windlesham Arboretum is between the villages of Windlesham and Lightwater in Surrey, United Kingdom. The arboretum features lakes, monuments, follies, a small chapel and approximately 22,000 mature and rare trees. The Windle Brook runs through the arboretum and has seven main footbridges and approximately ten ponds on each side, some of which are more properly identifiable as lakes based on size. The land and lakes, including a scattered number of buildings altogether consist of just over 1 square kilometre (0.39 sq mi).

Windlesham Arboretum
Location in Surrey
TypeArboretum
LocationWindlesham, Surrey
Coordinates51°21′18″N 0°40′21″W
Area1 km2 (0.39 sq mi)
Operated byThe Spowers Charitable Trust

Features

The arboretum, which is also a fresh water park, is located in the south of the civil parish of Windlesham, where alluvial soils juxtapose, furthest from the brook, with acidic naturally wet heath.[1]

A small percentage of land use is for homes, one of which is a farm, within the bounds, which own small parts of the arboretum as their semi-woodland garden in the style of Gertrude Jekyll, who lived in Surrey for most of her life. One such home is that of the Spowers family; Major William Spowers, who founded the Arboretum, died there in 2009.

Ownership and rules

The arboretum is owned by a charitable trust.[2] The objects of the charitable trust are to advance education in the study of trees and birds[3] and access to the arboretum is restricted to educational activities. The public is permitted limited access from four main entry points, spread around the compass, during daylight hours. Picnics, barbecues, cycling and leisure activities other than walking, study and reflection are prohibited. It is patrolled most days, and maintained to ensure its use remains in accordance with the trust's objectives.

The Arboretum is a main fishing ground for the Windlesham Angling Society which holds competitions on some weekends during its fishing season.

Archaeology

An archeological survey of the Arboretum was carried out by the Surrey Heath Archaeological & Heritage Trust[4] and found coins and pottery and signs of old Iron Age enclosure ditches and Romano-British agricultural buildings.

References
  1. Cranfield University National Soil Resources Institute
  2. "The Spowers Charitable Trust". Charity Commisioners. Retrieved 7 May 2020.
  3. "OpenCharities". Retrieved 12 August 2012.
  4. "Windlesham Arboretum project". Surrey Heath Archaeological & Heritage Trust. Retrieved 31 August 2009.

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