Featuring giant redwood / giant sequoia and coast redwood. Verified occurrence recorded by Redwood World. Two really interesting examples of Giant Redwood (amongst the others) make this one of the most fascinating sites discovered so far. The trees were all planted in the 1850's shortly after Giant Redwoods were first brought over from America. Picture 1 shows tree no. 1, a particularly fine example of the wide spread of the trunk at the base, so characteristic of the Giant Redwood. Although not the tallest, this is definitely one of the broadest I have measured so far in the U.K. being 9.1 metres girth at 1.5 metres from the ground. It also has a large branch growing fairly low down, another rather unusual feature on a Giant Redwood of this age. This example is surpassed, however, by the group of trees shown in pictures 2a and 2b. The original planting was of a single Giant Redwood (tree no.2) but from around the base of the first tree a ring of "children" sprouted some time later. Following on from that, some of these have since sprouted further "children" of their own. This remarkable behaviour seems quite rare and we have only ever encountered this before in Cambridge University Botanical Gardens , although that was on a much smaller scale. This arrangement does not seem to have had any adverse effect on the growth of the original stem, as can be seen from the measurements table below. If anyone is aware of the reason for this behaviour we would be very pleased to hear from them . The picture taken around 1890 has been reproduced by kind permission of the owners. There are several other trees in the grounds including a very fine Coast Redwood, once again with one of the broadest trunks of its type we have found so far. Across the road, opposite the church stands another Giant Redwood (tree no. 6), and there are two more on either side of Main Street where it meets the A422 (trees no. 7 & 8)
Visit information
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- Restricted access
- Last verified
- 10 Apr 2026
- Official site
- redwoodworld.co.uk/picturepages/shalstone.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
About this place
About Shalstone - Shalstone Manor
Shalstone - Shalstone Manor is located in Shalstone, Buckinghamshire, 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.
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Data sourced from Redwood World (redwoodworld.co.uk) and enriched by Redwood Finder.