It was the most photographed and famous tree in the north of England, and its 35 meter high majesty gave balance and contrast to the sight of the long wall built by Emperor Hadrian to protect the borders of the Roman Empire from barbarian invasions. Workers in Northumberland National Park were shocked to discover that the 300-year-old Sycamore Gap had been brutally toppled from its base on Thursday.
A 16-year-old boy was arrested as the main suspect for apparent vandalism. “It was deliberately cut down,” said the national park manager. “The Northumberland National Park Authority can confirm that the iconic Sycamore Gap tree has unfortunately fallen overnight,” police confirmed. Due to Storm Agnes, with wind speeds of more than 130 km/h, which shook the entire area, residents did not hear anything during the night. Investigators point out that the perpetrator was fully aware that in these weather conditions it was difficult for anyone to hear the sound of a chainsaw.
The tree, in a file image.simonbradfield (Getty Images)
The sycamore was one of the most beloved trees by the British and featured prominently in the recommendations of all travelers who visited the area. In a country with a special devotion to nature and plants, such brutal news has sparked sadness and anger. The tree had withstood the harsh weather for three centuries with the same strength as the mile-long Roman wall next to it. The maple was also famous because it was part of the scene in Robin Hood, The Prince of Thieves, the 1991 film starring Kevin Costner.
In May 2003, the tree was almost severely damaged when a helicopter crashed thirty meters away. On board were landscape architect Alan Titchmarsh and a film crew making the documentary “The British Isles: A Natural History.”
Tony Gates, director of Northumberland National Park, told British newspaper The Guardian that center staff cried when they arrived in the morning to find the famous tree felled. “Everyone is in shock. “It is one of the most iconic landscapes in the country,” he added.
The maple was voted England’s Tree of the Year in 2016 and came fifth in the European Tree of the Year competition the following year.
All that remains of the maple is the base. Experts believe that if pruned properly the tree can revive and produce new shoots, but warn that its celebratory image has been lost forever.
By building the wall, Emperor Hadrian (76-138 AD) decided to focus more on defending an empire that was too large to protect itself from new enemies than on new conquests. “This line of defense became the symbol of my abandonment of the politics of conquest,” says the character imagined by Marguerite Yourcenar in her immortal novel Memoirs of Hadrian. Twenty centuries later, Hadrian’s Wall still stretches 75 Roman miles (117.5 kilometers) from coast to coast across northern England. The solemnity of the work inspired George Martin to create the ice wall that separates the Seven Kingdoms from the Savage Lands in the Game of Thrones series.
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