1969

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Chapter 5 - The Central Estate - The Memorial Avenue, the academic buildings and the plantation

In the triangle formed by Prince of Wales Road, Streatham drive and Perry Road which is the area in front of the Washington Singer Laboratories there are a number of Japanese cherries which were given to the University College of the South West by the Japanese government in 1937. They belong to the species Prunus serrulata. They are deciduous plants bearing large numbers of flowers of different colours, usually white or pink and either single or double. They are probably of hybrid origin and have been grafted on to a suitable Japanese stock. They make a very fine display in the spring and early summer (Fig.  38).

From the Prince of Wales Road to the chapel there is a short avenue - the Memorial Avenue. On it there are the following trees planted to commemorate the students of the College who fell in the two world wars. First, two canoe birches, Betula papyrifera of the Betulaceae. Above them are a pair of plants of the dawn redwood, Metasequoia glyptostroboides, a deciduous member of the Taxodiaceae from central China, introduced into cultivation in 1948. Then there are two indian chestnuts, Aesculus indica, and above them two Caucasian firs, Abies nordmanniana, also of the Pinaceae and native, as the name suggests, to the Caucasus and Asia Minor. At the top of the avenue there are two specimens of Phellodendron japonicum, a native of China and Japan and a member of the Rutaceae with pinnate leaves.

On the north side of the Chapel there are a few plants of note. One is specimen of the silver maple, Acer saccharinum, a native Eastern North America. Beside it is a fastigiate form of the hornbeam, Carpinus betulus of the Corylaceae. There are two other Maples, a red and a green form of the Norway maple, Acer platanoides. There is also a plant of the sweet gum, Liquidambar styraciflua, a member of the Hamamelidaceae from Eastern North America which is notable for its brightly coloured leaves in autumn (Plate 7a).

On the other side of the path immediately beside the Queen's Building, there is a plant of Crateagus X carrieri, a hybrid found in France towards the end of the last century. It is one the most colourful of the hawthorns having, in autumn, bright yellow fruits about the size of a walnut. Next to it is a specimen of the Judas tree, Cercis siliquastrum of the Leguminosae. On the same border there are three specimens of the Swedish birch, Betula pendula, 'Dalecarlica' of the Betulaceae, with pendent branches and deeply lobed leaves. Behind them are four plants of the hybrid Escallonia 'Apple blossom' which has masses of pink tinged flowers throughout much of the summer. Other plants of note are Hydrangea petiolaris, the self-clinging Hydrangea from Japan, and Cotoneaster microphylla from the Himalaya. There are also Garrya elliptica, a Californian member of the Garyaceae on which the staminate plant is more attractive than the ovulate (Fig.  39), and the passion flower, Passiflora caerulea, a climber with striking flowers followed by large, orange coloured fruits (Plate 3d).

Beside the pergola at the south-east corner of the quadrangle of Queen's Building is a plant of Atriplex halimus, a grey leaved shrubby member of the Chenopodiacaea from the Mediterranean region. Inside the quadrangle is a specimen of Griselinia littoralis, an evergreen member of the Cornaceae from New Zealand. It has distinctive pale green leaves, and bears inconspicuous small green flowers and the spring (Fig. 40). In New Zealand it may grow to a height of some 60 feet, but in this country it is hardy only in coastal districts and is seldom more than a shrub. Near it is a plant of a compact form of the common Myrtle, Myrtus communis, and specimens of Photinia serrulata and Elaeagnus X ebbingei, the last an evergreen which bears inconspicuous but very sweet scented flowers in late autumn. On the lawn on the opposite side of the path is a specimen of the Chinese 'Snake bark' maple Acer hersii (Plate 5b). There is also on this lawn a specimen of the iron tree, Parrotia persica, the Persian member of the Hamamelidaceae which has small flowers with conspicuous clusters of red stamens in early spring and which shows striking autumn colouration (Plate 7a).

Advantage has been taken of the south facing walls of Northcote House to plant various shrubs some of which are not completely hardy in this part of south-west England. On the wall facing the Queen's Drive is a plant of the Chilean jasmine Mandevilla suaveolens of the Apocynaceae, a tall climber producing fragrant white flowers nearly two inches across. On the south side of the Senate chamber is a specimen of Azara petiolaris, a Chilean member of Flacourtiaceae with graceful pendent dark green foliage, and clusters of small yellow flowers in April. Next to it is a plant of Magnolia delavayi, an evergreen species from Yunnan with large dull green leaves and white flowers 7-8 inches across. The third plant in this group is the Australian silver wattle, Acacia dealbata, with silvery bipinnate leaves and bearing yellow 'mimosa' flowers in early spring. In a sheltered bay nearby is a plant of the parrot's bill or lobster claw, Clianthus puniceus, a member of the Leguminosae from New Zealand producing very large brilliant red flowers in early summer. A short distance away, the steps leading up to Northcote House are flanked by two vigorous and free flowering clematis species. Clematis armandii, from China flowers in April and May, Clematis montana, from the Himalaya, a few weeks later.

Nearby on the south wall of Northcote House is a loquat, Eriobotrya japonica, and a few yards to its right a pomegranate, Punica granatum. This deciduous tree, native from south-east Europe to the Himalaya, rarely ripens its fruit in this country, but produces bright red flowers through the latter part of the summer. Beside it is a plant of Carpenteria californica, an evergreen shrub of the Saxifragaceae from California bearing large white fragrant flowers in June and July (Plate 3a). Father along the wall there are specimens of the pineapple broom, Cytisus battandieri, and of Cassia corymbosa, both members of the Leguminosae. In front of these plants against the wall is a specimen of of Winter's bark, Drimys winteri, and one of the common Myrtle of the Mediterranean region, Myrtus communis.

Growing in the lawn beside the Refectory is specimen of Magnolia wilsonii, the deciduous species producing pendulous white flowers in May and June. Close to the north wall of Devonshire House there are two fine bushes of a Camellia japonica 'White Swan' alternating with plants of Choisia ternata, a Mexican shrub of the Rutaceae, which produces corymbs of fragrant white flowers in April and May.

At the bottom of the Queen's Drive there are three trees beside the Washington Singer Laboratories. The first is the Grecian fir, Abies cephalonica. It is a tree which grows very well in this country and was introduced from its native Greece at the beginning of the last century. Next to it is another specimen of the Redwood, Sequoia sempervirens, which, as we have noted, is unusual among the Coniferae in that it easily regenerates itself vegatatively if it is cut down. This specimen is liable to show signs of damage after cold winds; the species is not particularly hardy. Beside it is another specimen of the Western red cedar Thuja plicata. Behind the Washington Singer Laboratories there is a specimen of the alerce, Fitzroya cupressoides, a native of Chile where it grows into a forest tree.

On the north side of Stocker Road, the main entrance to the estate, there are a group of science buildings (Fig. 41). Running from the the building which houses the Departments of Mathematics and Geology roughly to the junction of Rennes Drive with Stocker Road there is a small street which ultimately joins the Taddyford Brook in the deep valley which runs on the south side of the Prince of Wales Road. On each side of this small stream there was a plantation of mainly hardwood trees with a few conifers. This area of about three acres was probably planted at the time of the laying out of the original Streatham Estate. Certainly it was a stand of mature timber at the outbreak of the 1939-45 war when it was felled. Natural regeneration has since taken place and the suckering of the common elm, Ulmus procera, has dominated the plantation though self-sown willows such as the natural hybrid Salix x viridis and the common sallow Salix cinerea have become established in the moister areas. The silver birch Betula pendula, oaks and the common ash Fraxinus excelsior have also sown themselves successfully.

Shortly after the felling, European larch, Larix decidua, and Sitka spruce, Picea sitchensis, were planted. Since 1962 there has been a programme of controlled thinning to maintain a balance between the species. Very recently other more unusual trees and plants have been introduced e.g. rhododendrons, eucalyptus, camellias, various acacias and callistemons, all of which appear to thrive. The stream has been dammed and this gives areas suitable for various bog plants.