Alongside the photos of the Great Storm of 1987, my parents also found some old images from 1972. Around that time, an entire new housing estate was being constructed nearby, and the below images make for some nice arboricultural comparisons between then (1972) and now (2016). I have made all images black and white, as the old ones were quite faded, and have also tried to be as accurate as possible with the locations. Also note the old images were taken in summer, whilst these new ones were taken during winter. I shall return to the locations in the summer and get more photos then, if I remember!
Enjoy.
Location 1
In 1972, we can see how this street was graced with a large line of sizeable trees.However, in their place now reside two sycamores (Acer pseudoplatanus). A huge shame!
Location 2
When this image was taken, the housing estate development had not yet reached this area.Lo and behold, it soon did. And here’s a comparison image to today. Instead of mature trees, we can see some fastigiate hornbeam (Carpinus betulus ‘Fastigiata’) and another tree (I didn’t check for species).
Location 3
In this vista, we can see how some young trees have been planted on the verge to both the left and right hand sides of the road.Oh, look! More fastigiate hornbeam. Some Acer platanoides can also be seen on the other side of the road.
Location 4
Standing in the same location as the above set of images but looking the other way, we can see some large trees over to the right.It seems like they were cleared and replaced with yet more fastigiate hornbeam.
Location 5
Some nice scrub can be seen over to the right, and some mature trees within the property in the distance can also be observed.The scrub has since gone and been replaced with a housing development, though the mature trees still can be found within the grounds of the house. I believe they were horse chestnut (Aesculus hippocastanum), though I confess I didn’t look too closely.
Arboriculture 