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William's Cleugh Pines
1. That they or their ancestors were planted.
2. That they are a native remnant.
If the latter were true, they would represent the only surviving native pinewood remnant in England.
To determine the age of the six trees, annual rings were counted from cores taken from the base of their trunks. Four of the trees were 59-80 years old and probably arose as seedlings. Two of the mature trees were 155 and 130 years old, the different ages suggesting that they hadn't been planted at the same time.
Ecotype (Forest Research) No.28 May 2005: Link
Scots Pine trees are undoubtedly native to the north Northumberland region as there is plenty of evidence of preserved pollen and wood.
Kielder Castle has a table made from old wood dug from the peat in Black Cleugh. The presence of ancient woodland in the area was still within the memory of the last generation in the late 1880s. The name 'Woody Crags' still retained for some scars on the east side of White Kielder between 1,250 and 1,500 ft in altitude. The destruction of the woods is attributed to the sheep by many of the shepherds, and it is considered that the small patches of natural wood which still remain will also be gradually destroyed unless fenced in.
The geology of the Plashetts and Kielder (explanation of quarter-sheet 108 S.W., new series, sheet 7), C T Clough (1889)
That the pines in William's Cleugh are native remnants is also supported by:
Possible 'pine' place names dating from post-Roman times
Limited pine wood flora found in William's Cleugh: chickweed wintergreen and Issler's clubmoss
The rare lichen, Alectoria sarmentosa, is found on the Kielder Stone but unknown outside the Scottish Highlands and a possible pine forest relict.
Although not yet proven, the William's Cleugh pines are being used as a seed source to bolster the population in situ and for new woodland planting.
Northumberland by Angus Lunn (2004).
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