Featuring giant sequoia (Sequoiadendron giganteum), coast redwood (Sequoia sempervirens), dawn redwood (Metasequoia glyptostroboides). Verified occurrence recorded by Redwood World. This Coast Redwood can be found near Sloane Square in Sedding Street, beside the parish church of Holy Trinity. Having been allocated a small square of earth amid all the concrete, paving and tall buildings, its appearance is not perhaps as magnificent as it could be under more congenial surroundings, but it seems to be steadily gaining height nonetheless. The tree was mentioned in the Royal Horticultural Society magazine "The Garden" November 2005 Volume 130; Part 11, as being 11m (35ft) tall and five years later in 2008 it is 16.25m (53ft). This represents a growth rate of a little over 1 metre (just over 3ft) per year. I know that this rate can be attained, (from measurements taken of my tree in Colchester Castle Park ), but given the conditions in this London street it is a remarkable achievement. Unfortunately the weather on the day of the visit in 2008 did not help to produce a good photograph but I am sure the Coast appreciated the rain. Thanks to Harry for sending us a photograph of the same tree in 2017, it certainly seems to have grown a bit since our last visit.
Visit information
- Access
- Access unknown
- Last verified
- 10 Apr 2026
- Official site
- redwoodworld.co.uk/picturepages/knightsbridge3.htm
Redwood species here
Native to the Sierra Nevada mountains of California, giant sequoias were introduced to Britain in the 1850s during the Victorian plant-collecting era. They are the world's most massive trees by volume and have thrived in the UK's mild, wet climate, often growing faster than in parts of their native range. Many Victorian-era plantings now rival mature specimens in California.
Present. Native to the Sierra Nevada mountains of California, giant sequoias were introduced to Britain in the 1850s during the Victorian plant-collecting era. They are the world's most massive trees by volume
Native to the fog belt of coastal California and Oregon, coast redwoods are the tallest trees on Earth. In Britain they thrive where rainfall, humidity, and sheltered woodland conditions echo their native range, forming narrow, soaring avenues and groves with reddish fibrous bark and flat fern-like foliage.
Present. The tallest trees on Earth, coast redwoods can exceed 100 metres in their native California. Less common in Britain than giant sequoias, they prefer sheltered, moist locations and can still reach impr
Dawn redwood is a deciduous redwood from China, known from fossils before living trees were documented in the 1940s. It reached British collections soon afterwards and is now found in parks, botanic gardens, and arboreta, where its soft summer foliage and rusty autumn colour make it distinct from evergreen giant sequoias and coast redwoods.
Present. A deciduous conifer thought to be extinct until rediscovered in a remote Chinese province in 1941. Seeds were distributed to botanical gardens worldwide in the late 1940s. Unlike its evergreen relativ
Field observations
Photos
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Redwood at Knightsbridge - Sloane Square
About this place
About Knightsbridge - Sloane Square
Knightsbridge - Sloane Square is located in Knightsbridge, London, England.
Species Present
Giant Sequoia (Sequoiadendron giganteum)
Native to the Sierra Nevada mountains of California, giant sequoias were introduced to Britain in the 1850s during the Victorian plant-collecting era. They are the world's most massive trees by volume and have thrived in the UK's mild, wet climate, often growing faster than in their native range. Many Victorian-era plantings now rival mature specimens in California.
Coast Redwood (Sequoia sempervirens)
The tallest trees on Earth, coast redwoods can exceed 100 metres in their native California. Less common in Britain than giant sequoias, they prefer sheltered, moist locations and can still reach impressive heights in the UK. The tallest known coast redwood in Britain is over 50 metres.
Dawn Redwood (Metasequoia glyptostroboides)
A deciduous conifer thought to be extinct until rediscovered in a remote Chinese province in 1941. Seeds were distributed to botanical gardens worldwide in the late 1940s. Unlike its evergreen relatives, the dawn redwood loses its needles in winter, turning a striking copper-bronze in autumn.
Data sourced from Redwood World (redwoodworld.co.uk) and enriched by Redwood Finder.