Views from Box Hill
Have you ever wondered what is the origin of the name of Box Hill the iconic centrepiece of the Olympic Road Race and next month’s Prudential Ride?
Box Hill is one of the last vestiges of Box woodland in the UK. The Box tree, Buxus Sempervirens, is the same species as Box hedges in gardens. It is ideal for topiary, with small oval leaves, slow growth, resilience to drought and, as it’s name suggests, it is evergreen.
Box trees are not large, up to 10-15 metres tall. They thrive in the chalky alkaline soil on the top of Box Hill. Their wide shallow root system enables them to cling to the steep slopes of the North Downs and the Chilterns, where another area of Box woodland extends through the Prime Minister’s estate at Chequers. There are probably little more than 20 hectares left in this country.
Under the canopy Box trees are bare. Their trunks are like spindles and even after 200 years growing they are little more than 20 centimetres in diameter. But this is enough to cut down for timber. Box is the only true hardwood grown in Northern Europe. This light coloured wood has been used to make small wooden objects that need to be hard, tough and good looking such as chess pieces, tool handles and wheels for the rigging of wooden sailing ships.
My interest in encouraging the replanting of Boxwood is its use in woodwind instruments such as recorders, oboes and clarinets. They have a sharp crisp tone beloved now by modern recorder players. Boxwood is perfect also for baroque clarinets but modern instruments, with many more keys than their earlier brethren, need to be made of the even tougher imported African Blackwood.
From Box seedling to oboe in two hundred years
The North and South Downs were much more heavily wooded 3000 years ago and then ware cleared during the Iron Age to make way for farming. Many conservationists are trying to protect this Iron Age landscape, partly because it has enabled certain rare species of orchids to survive. But wild Boxwood forest is also endangered and should be encouraged, particularly with the appearance of Box Blight a fungal disease that risks devastating the little Box woodland that we still have.
So next time you cycle up Box Hill, spare a thought that you are cycling in the last of an ancient woodland that has stretched over the surrounding hills of London for many Millennia.
Some newly planted Boxwood
My thanks to Huw Crompton who has the same passion for Boxwood and provided some of the photos
wildonabike 
Lovely read. If my mind is alert to it next Sunday I will certainly spare a thought for the boxwood trees as I climb.
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Very interesting and thoughtful piece. I did think the name had something to do with Box wood, but didn’t know how old the forest was.
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Great article Alasdair, it is through your enthusiasm that many new acres of box are being and have been planted recently. Leading the way in a return to the age of sustainability and a little-know ecological gem found so close to home
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Great Article. It is a surprise for me, that in England still growing so old , wild boxwood trees and thanks for great news that boxwood is planted.
I am oboe maker and I am loving boxwood. Trees and wood. Boxwood is a mistic tree for me… Because of the fact, that I use this kind of wood for making oboes, personally I planted about 200 boxwood shrubs.
I saw all pictures – beautiful nature!
All the best,
Filip
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Hello,
I am the double-bass player in the Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra in Toronto and next week we will be performing a children’s concert around Ontario with a section about the trees used in our instruments. I wondered if it might be possible for me to use the wonderful photo of the boxwood seedlings and the baroque oboe (we also have beautiful photos of an oboe being turned on a lathe and reeds being made.) I will also send an e-mail asking permission from Huw Crompton. Thank you for the great posts, and all the best from Canada.
Alison Mackay
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Please feel free to use pictures. I will send you a report tomorrow on boxwood.
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