THE Guardians of the Great Tree of Holsworthy gathered at 8am in The Square on Wednesday, May 1, for the annual measuring of the tree.

The English Oak (Quercus Rober) was planted on November 26, 1992, and this traditional ceremony has been carried out every year since.

At the time of planting, those who contributed to the costs were invited to become ‘Hereditary Guardians of The Great Tree’ and were issued with ‘Certificates of Admission to the Roll of Guardians’.

The originator of the project and registrar, Guardian James M Rowland devised a set of ‘rules’ which were sent to the original eighty Guardians in April 1993. It read: “Guardianship of the Tree is intended to be hereditary. You may pass your certificate on to your chosen successor and, on production of the certificate can have his or her name added to the Roll. The Roll will be maintained in perpetuity by a Registrar appointed at the Portreeve’s pleasure.

“On registering a new name the Registrar may charge, and keep, a fee not exceeding the price of one pint of best beer at the refreshment house nearest to the Great Tree. I am the first Registrar!

“The Guardians of the Tree are not a charity and have no officers, no committee and no funds. The only assets we own are two buckets. We will meet yearly, without notice, at 8am on May 1. Our common interest is in cherishing and preserving The Great Tree until it is old enough to look after itself. Its owners are the town council.”

The first measurement taken on May 1, 1993, saw the girth of the tree, one metre from pavement height, measure at 140mm.

Last year it had reached 698mm in girth and 9.65m in height. This year it had grown to 708mm wide and 9.91m tall — equating to 26cm in height growth and 10mm in girth growth on the previous year’s measurements — a steady growth.