'The Nine Brethren'

Ancient Boundary Marker

'The Nine Brethren' is a remarkable tree which is situated deep within Nocton Wood, otherwise known locally as 'The Big Wood'. It is rumoured to be an ancient boundary marker separating the Lord of the Manor's land and that belonging to the old Augustinian Priory founded by Robert D'Arcy, the ruins of which are situated on Abbey Hill overlooking Nocton Fen and Wasp's Nest.

The tree was named 'The Nine Brethren' because of its unusual shape - the bole has divided into nine separate trunks allowing people to stand within its centre.

Cataloguing Sheila Redshaw's extensive archive of material, I came across an old map which identified the exact location of  'The Nine Brethren', together with an image showing what it looked like. This has prompted me to seek out this wonderful specimen to record it once again for posterity in 2012.

You may be interested to know that North Kesteven District Council classify Nocton Wood as:

'An outstanding wildlife site, and the central part of a complex of woodlands in this part of the District that are of County importance. It is also one of the largest woodland blocks in the District. The woodland type varies from high forest to coppice, and the shrub layer is rich. The soil is sandy and the ground flora is therefore quite different to the other woods in the area. The wood is an important bird habitat and, in overall terms, is one of the finest non-SSSI woodlands in Lincolnshire.'

You might have noticed logging lorries going through the village recently, transporting large amounts of timber and wondered where these were coming from. There is extensive maintenance work going on in Nocton Wood and I understand this is the source of the timber.

If you wish to read more about 'The D'Arcys' here is a blog entry posted back in 2007.

Plate 1: 'The Nine Brethren' in January 2012 [inset is a picture taken many years ago - I believe it was taken in Winter 1973].
Plate 2 and 3: these two images give better detail of this distinctive tree.

Plate 1. 'The Nine Brethren'

Plate 2. 'The Nine Brethren'

Plate 3. 'The Nine Brethren'