Sir, Wishing no disrespect to the wonderful plane tree in Berkeley Square, but the two rows of 21 magnificent plane trees beside the Embankment of the Thames in the Great Garden of the Inner Temple must surely be Britain’s most valuable trees under the new Cavat valuation system for trees that takes into account size, health, historical significance and the number of people living nearby to enjoy them. (“Put that axe down — this is Britain’s most valuable tree”, April 22).

These trees were planted in 1871 by the Gardener of the Inner Temple, Samuel Broome, on top of the new District Railway (now the District and Circle lines) and two other tunnels (one used for water pipes, gas mains and telegraph wires, and the other for a main intercepting sewer) famously constructed by Sir Joseph Bazalgette in the newly formed Embankment.

They are enormous yet, amazingly, their roots happily coexist with all that goes on below them. They are vigorously healthy, revealing fresh marbled bark each year and are lovingly cared for by head gardener Andrea Brunsendorf, under an agreed tree management strategy with the City of London that closely monitors their health and all the trees in the Temple. The original reason for planting them was environmental: plane trees could cope with the foul London air prevailing until the Clean Air Act 1950 and filter it.

Generations of city dwellers have enjoyed them: in the late 19th century 7,000 people would come in the evening to take the air and exercise while their children would play around them. Today more than 1,000 City workers will picnic at lunchtime and walk in their cool shade on hot summer’s days. Between 1888 and 1911 the RHS held 24 flower shows beneath and besides them before moving to the Royal Hospital where the Chelsea Flower Show was born in 1912. In our view, their value is beyond the Cavat scale; they are simply invaluable.

His Honour Judge Simon Brown, QC

Master of the Garden of the Inner Temple

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