This tree continued in its place until the late 1940s or early 1950s, when it was finally cut down. For those interested (hello, Bruce!) here are some pictures of the day it was felled, with thanks to a former resident who has provided a number of pictures for the great Kirby Misperton Archive.
As the village has grown a number of trees have been lost, some more lamented than others. A main feature of the street until recently was a large willow opposite where this poplar stood. It regularly entangled overhead cables and collared passing pedestrian with its lanky tendrils. However, for all its enormous bulk it was no match for the developers, and is no more. In its place we have a petite sapling of indeterminate species which is, to put it politely, failing to thrive at present. 
Other developments also took out this rather lovely old ash tree not long ago.
However, just a the residents of Kirby Misperton come and go, so too do the trees. Near where the poplar stood we now have a winter flowering cherry, which is a real treat on gloomy winter days, and a little further along, a beautiful deep purple lilac tree. Time and trees wait for no one.
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4 comments:
Wow -- I am in love with Yorkshire. There are very few people or cultures that would archive the life of a tree.
You said that "like people, trees come and go." There might be one exception -- and this, too, in Yorkshire. The exception: the two trees at Top Withens (Wuthering Heights) -- and I am convinced that the two trees are Cathy and Heathcliff reincarnated.
If the link is not broken, you can see Top Withens here:
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/c/ca/TopWithens.JPG
I do enjoy your writing.
Glad you enjoyed it! There is a great book on old British trees (if you really like that sort of thing) here:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/1841880868/ref=sib_rdr_dpp?ie=UTF8&no=266239&me=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE&st=books
"Meetings with Remarkable Trees" by Pakenham - beautiful illustrations and quirky information about some really strange and wonderful trees.
What a beautiful book! I've put it it in my Amazon.com cart.
I had forgotten until you pointed out the poplar, that my dad planted a dozen or so poplars in our yard (garden) at our new house some 40 years ago. He planted them because they grew quickly. And they certainly did. This was in North Dakota -- near Canada. The poplars thrived.
I can't recall, but it seems in some Virginia Woolf writings (novels or biographies) or maybe someone else, the author references remarkable trees in England -- that's the first thing I thought when I saw the Pakenham book -- I've seen some of those pictures before. I wonder if I might not have seen that book when I was in Yorkshire.
The village use to have a lot of poplars, probably planted by the estate. I think they are commonly use as a wind shield - it can be a bit blowy here!
In London (and no doubt elsewhere) they often planted plane trees. I heard it was because the bark would absorb pollutants and then shed, making the air a bit cleaner. Trees are great!
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