Overview

• Experts counted growth rings on a cross-section taken about a metre above the base, so the result establishes a minimum age rather than a full lifespan.
• The estimate supports longstanding beliefs of a late-Victorian planting, possibly linked to landowner John Clayton, though the origin remains unproven.
• Researchers found the tree comprised two stems that fused after roughly 30–35 years, a feature that complicated precise counts in sycamore wood.
• The sampled slice was transported to Historic England’s Portsmouth laboratory and will be retained for future research and the national record.
• Daniel Graham and Adam Carruthers received four years and three months in prison earlier in 2025 for the felling, and officials confirmed the sentences will not be reviewed.