The Wild Service Tree: Wiltshire’s Oldest Specimen

Meet the 120-year-old rare tree in Furrow Field’s ancient hedgerow

Furrow Field is home to a magnificent Wild Service Tree (Sorbus Torminalis), found in the hedgerow along the northwest boundary. Thought to be roughly 120 years old, this deciduous broadleaf tree is the biggest and oldest specimen in Wiltshire. The Wild Service Tree is a rare species that arrived in Britain when the climate was more continental. Though the UK’s climate is now too cold for the tree to self-seed, it produces vigorous root suckers. The tree’s folk name “Chequers” may relate to its chequered bark pattern or its date-like fruits.