tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1576793257211626923.post3178333239195135724..comments2023-11-05T07:41:40.943+00:00Comments on Reflections on A Journey to St Helena: Congleton: Salix Babylonica, St Helena and Sir Thomas ReadeJohn Tyrrellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14840928923304125310noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1576793257211626923.post-26678785952483584662014-05-09T13:53:19.020+01:002014-05-09T13:53:19.020+01:00Visiting Walmer Castle in Kent at the weekend a fr...Visiting Walmer Castle in Kent at the weekend a framed newspaper cutting caught my eye describing a willow tree, long since dead, planted by the Duke of Wellington from a cutting from the willow by the grave of Napoleon. In 1708 Walmer Castle took on the role as the residence of the Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports, a role initially carrying real power but by 1829 when Wellington was appointed Lord Warden had become an honorary position bestowed on those who had gives distinguished service to the state. Wellington died here in September 1852. There was no indication as to how the cutting was procured but your concern about the fate of the original trees was well founded, even in 1836.<br /><br />From the Mirror of Literature and Amusement Vol. XXVIII London 1836 P. 264.<br />“During the first two miles we had to encounter a constant ascent, and soon afterwards descended the glen in which repose the remains of Napoleon. Here, beneath three willows, shorn of almost all their branches, and within an iron railing, is a slab of stone, placed upon the ground, without any inscription, and eight feet long by four wide, - such is the tomb of of the once mighty Emperor! On the willows, whose trunks bend nearly to the slab, that extraordinary man was wont to sit and converse with the few friends who accompanied him in his distant exile, nor could he have selected for the purpose a more sweetly sequestered spot. Previous to his death, the trees were in a flourishing state; but since that event so many persons have procured cuttings from them, that they are now almost destroyed.<br /><br />The Augustus Earle Watercolour of the Tomb was painted in 1829 and shows at least four surviving trees.John Grimshawnoreply@blogger.com