1728 The Trees of Great Britain and Ireland 



the precinct of this Maner, hath always been known by the name of Box 

 Hill. Here was formerly also a Warren with its Lodge ; in a lease ' of which from 

 Sir Matthew Brown to Thomas Constable, dated 25th August 1602, the Tenent 

 covenants to use his best endeavours for preserving the Yew, Box, and all other 

 trees growing thereupon ; and in an account of the rents and profits for one year to 

 Michaelmas, 1608, the receipt for Box trees cut down upon the Sheep Walk on the 

 hill is .50. I have seen also an account of this Maner, taken in 171 2, in which it 

 is supposed that as much had been cut down 2 within a few years before as amounted 

 to ^3000." 



E. S. Marshall 3 says : " He must be very sceptical who doubts it being native 

 on the steep slopes of Box Hill, above Burford Bridge. I have also seen it growing 

 rather plentifully a mile or more away towards Betchworth." Bromfield 4 says: 

 " Box is profusely abundant on most parts of Sidon Hill, in Highclere Park (Hants), 

 scattered over its shelving sides as if quite spontaneous, and said to disperse itself 

 freely by seed ; " but he avers that it was certainly planted here. Thus the natural 

 appearance now of the box on Box Hill, Surrey, is no sure proof of its being 

 indigenous there. 



Another locality where the box occurs apparently wild is the Chiltern Hills; 

 as on the chalk downs 5 between Ashridge and Berkhampstead, where there are some 

 very old-looking trees. Near here, on the top of Dunstable Downs, there is a 

 place named Boxstead. On the Chequers Court estate, about half a mile from 

 Ellesborough Church, near Wendover, box has all the appearance of being 

 indigenous 6 over a considerable area. Mr. Raffety of High Wycombe tells me that 

 box is thickest here in two valleys, known locally as Ellesborough Warren and 

 Kimble Warren, the bushes being about 20 ft., with numerous seedlings of all ages. 

 It extends up over the adjoining spur of the Chiltern Hills to an altitude of 500 feet, 

 the chalk subsoil being near the surface, and the exposure almost due south-west. 

 Messrs. Sprague and Hutchinson state 7 that some of the stems are 8 in. in diameter, 

 and that the only tree which has obtained a place amongst the box thickets is the elder. 



There is a place named Boxe in Domesday Book for Herts, section xxviii. ; 

 but the village 8 so-called no longer exists, being now part of Wymondley. Mr. H. 

 Clinton- Baker tells me of a field at the Priory, Wymondley, 9 around which is a broad 



1 Barrington, in Phil. Trans, lix. 23 (1769) quotes from A Journey through England, printed in 1722 : "Box Hill 

 was first planted by that famous antiquary the Earl of Arundel, with box wood, designing to have a house there ; but want of 

 water made him alter his resolution and build one at Albury hard by." This is erroneous, as the Earl of Arundel was only 

 sixteen years old in 1602, when Box Hill was already covered with box and yew, according to the lease cited above. 



2 Ellis, Timber Tree Improved, 103 (1745), sa y s tnat "great quantities of box were felled off the Chalky Downs near 

 Dorking in 1716, which paid its owner several hundred pounds." 3 In Journ. Bot. xlv. 346 (1907). 



In Phytologist, iii. 817 (1850). 6 Cf. W. G. Smith, in Journ. Bot. xxxix. 73 (1901). 



Loudon, Derby Arboretum, 50 (1840), says : "There are extensive native woods of the box tree on the estate of Sir 

 Robert Russell at Chequers in Buckinghamshire." 



' Gard. Chron. Hi. 404 (1912). The southern end of Ellesborough Warren is Velvet Lawn, a favourite meet of the 

 hounds. 



8 Chauncy, Hist. Antig. Herts, ii. 126 (1826), says: "The Vill or Parish of Box was situated between the parishes of 

 Stevenage, Chivesfield, and Walkerne ; and this parish was called Box from a great wood which retains the name to this 

 day." Boxbury Farm and Box Wood are in the parish of Walkern ; but there are no box trees in these places at the 

 present time. 



It is worth recording here that a chestnut tree, mentioned in Domesday book, still survives at Wymondley. Mr. H. 

 Clinton-Baker tells me that it is a mere shell, no less, however, than 19 ft. in diameter, and still bearing fruit. 



