Hundreds of newly planted trees on a Hertfordshire estate will be protected for generations to come thanks to fencing specialist Cotswold Decorative Ironworks.
The business, based at Chipping Norton in Oxfordshire, recently supplied a total of 272 Estate Tree Guards at Panshanger Park near Hertford.
The guards are designed to protect the growing saplings – including oak, small leaf lime, Scots pine, shrub species and silver birch – from deer, as well as the estate’s herds of native English Longhorn Cattle and Iron Age Pigs, which are part of a regenerative grazing scheme.
They do this while returning a sense of pastoral splendour to the Grade II-listed estate, as the design of the tree guards has remained largely unchanged since the heyday of the English stately home in the Georgian and Victorian eras.
Cotswold Decorative Ironworks was appointed to supply the tree guards by Maydencroft Ltd, a land management consultancy in Hertfordshire who have been supporting Panshanger Park owners, Tarmac, with the restoration of the park for the past seven years.
Jez Perkins, who is Head of Grounds & Estates at Maydencroft, said they chose to work with Cotswold Decorative Ironworks due to the look and quality of the products they supplied.
He said: “We looked at various suppliers in terms of parkland fencing and tree guards, bearing in mind sensitivities of the estate and the aesthetic we wanted to achieve.
“Cotswold Decorative Ironworks were key in terms of affordability, but the quality of their products was very high.
“They also worked very closely with us. Because of the size of the order, we didn’t have the space to store all of the guards, so they had to be matched to the tree planting schedule. Individual trees had to be planted before the guard arrived, but we couldn’t leave them unprotected for long, so it was all highly sequenced.
“Cotswold were very good at this and we appreciated their flexibility. It meant we were able to ensure all the trees were protected as quickly as possible.”
The project got underway in April 2024 and was complete last month. It is part of a wider restoration of Panshanger Park, which has been funded by a range of stakeholders including Tarmac, Historic England and Natural England.
The grounds of the estate were originally designed by Humphrey Repton, regarded by many as the last great designer of classic English landscape gardens and the natural successor to Capability Brown.
Pete Boulton, Director of Cotswold Decorative Ironworks, said being part of the restoration of such beautiful estate had been a privilege for the company.
He said: “Because of the decorative style of estate fencing, gates, bridges, and other products we supply, we often find ourselves working in some very beautiful places.
“Panshanger Park certainly falls into that category. It is a stunning estate that combines modern-day sustainable land management practices with the best of tradition, such as our tree guards.
“Not only do they look spectacular now they’re in place, they’ll also ensure future generations will be able to enjoy the newly planted trees for many years to come.”
