Our Woods

Most of the timber we use comes from 1200 acres of our own chestnut coppice woods in the Kent Downs which have been managed by our family for nearly two centuries. Coppicing is an ancient method of woodland management that involves a repeating cycle of cutting trees down to the stump and allowing them to regrow. It is impossible to tell precisely how old a coppiced tree is, but there are some in our woods that are certainly at least 500 years old. The process is enormously beneficial for the woodland ecosystem and for the trees themselves, which are reinvigorated by cutting.

Chestnut for our pale fencing is cut at around 14 years, for posts at between 20–30 years. The trees are grown close together which ensures the shoots grow into straight poles, ideal for fence posts and minimising production waste. The rotation system means that the woods are regularly flooded with light allowing a wide range of species to flourish at different times in the coppice cycle. We have monitored the woodland ecosystem for nearly 30 years and have records that show flourishing populations of songbirds, slow worms and lizards, dormice and moths amongst the chestnut coppice. Most spectacular are the expanses of bluebells that emerge the spring after a block of chestnut has been felled.