Dedham - Brook Street (Essex)

This grand old Wellingtonia sits in the garden of a house close to the Old Grammar school, which was founded by Elizabeth I. The school was attended by John Constable (1776-1837) who would walk from his home in East Bergholt to attend as a dayboy. The owner of the house kindly told us that the garden was once part of the playing fields of the Grammar school. The artist's friend and biographer C.R. Leslie recalled: "I have seen him admire a fine tree with an ecstasy of delight like that with which he would catch up a beautiful child in his arms". He painted a very life-like study of the trunk of an elm tree: 1821 and it would have been nice to imagine that the painter was also inspired by this Redwood tree in his school days, but of course it would not even have been planted until at least sixteen years after his death.

Common Names and Latin Name	Latitude and Longitude		OS National Grid	Elevation (above sea-level)	Height	Girth	Date Measured
	WGS84	OSGB36
Giant Redwood, Wellingtonia Sequoiadendron giganteum	N51.95852 E0.99462	N51.95804 E0.99637	TM 05853 33129	15ft (4.57m)	21.3m	6.03m	June 2007
Girth was measured at 1.5m from ground.