Author name: Richard Clarke

I was surprised to discover that black poplar trees (see blog 31) are considered to be the most endangered tree species in England. By this designation the Forestry Commission/or maybe the Woodland Trust mean trees in the ‘wild’ that are a result of natural pollination, rather than those cultivated by woodland nurseries. The seeds of […]

The instrumental piece ‘Banks of Green Willow’ is a very beautiful melody written by George Butterfield. It seems to capture the delight of sitting by a stream on a balmy summer’s day with only the rustling of the lance-shaped leaves in a gentle breeze to break the silence. It sounds so typical of the sort

The photo above shows the aquaduct carrying Beverley Beck over Barmston Drain near to the lock connecting Beverley Beck with the River Hull and near to the path alongside the Beck shown in the previous blog. It’s interesting to note that the Beck had been dug 600 or so years before the Drain (1799-1800), therefore

Today’s photo shows a huge white willow tree stump just before the path from the end of Beverley Beck reaches the aquaduct which carries Beverley Beck across Barmston Drain. This must have been a massive specimin before being reduced to its present size. Willows, like horse chestnuts, have quite a short main trunk before the

The photo above shows a section of Oak Road Playing Fields/Park, looking west and with a section of the bank of the River Hull off picture 20yards to the right. Across the River is Sutton Fields Industrial Estate. East of where this photo was taken is the shallow lake created when the playing fields were

The ‘ruins’ were clearly meant to suggest a pre-modern building such as a church, manor house or monastic ruin. However, were they genuine? No evidence exists in council minutes that I have seen as to their origin although the ‘ruins’ are just so-called in the Committee minutes of the late 1920s. Were they, possibly, artificial