HAZEL (Corylus avellana) is a member of the Birch family (Betulaceae) that includes alder, birch, and hornbeam. A native, hazel was probably one of the first to recolonise after the retreat of the glaciers, and may even have survived in small areas. In the UK, it is typically seen as a shrub, with many stems and rarely a single trunk. In part, this may be due to coppicing and/or grazing and as with everything in nature, there are always exceptions: we have one tree on the Common which has multiple trunks but has grown to a height of around 10m – making it arguably our most notable tree. Until recent and sensitive management by our conservation team, it was probably untouched since being coppiced some 150 years ago. Hazel is known for its ‘lamb’s tail’ (male) catkins that are welcome and early signs of Spring. Its fruit are ‘cobnuts’. Here on the Common these are most likely to be eaten by squirrels long before they are ripe (if insects have not got there first).

Hazel supports over 100 insects. Over thousands of years, it has found its place in planted hedgerows and woodland. Anyone planting a quickset hedge of thorn would be wise to include hazel in the mix as this ensures a ready supply of stakes every ten to twelve years, which is invaluable in laying the hedge. Hedge-laying is the highly skilled craft of bending and partially cutting (pleaching) through the stems of a line of shrubs or small trees near ground level and arching the stems without breaking them, so they can grow horizontally and be intertwined. There are many different styles of hedge, dependant on where you are in the country and this is a great source of pride to local craftsmen.

Coppicing and pollarding are two ways of extending the life of a tree – Oliver Rackham estimated one coppice stool to be over 1500 years old, ten times its normal lifespan. This type of woodland management increases biodiversity in the woodland understorey and floor. We are fortunate to have a small hazel coppice on the Common, planted some 25 years ago, and now on its second rotation. Hazel propagates easily by striking cuttings or layering (pegging a shoot to the ground). This was done during the first coppicing, to produce many new whips for transplanting into our new hedges. We hope to see these woodland management techniques and crafts promoted over coming years.

Fast-growing and easy to work, coppiced hazel gives a good yield and has many traditional uses including bean poles, clothesline props, hurdles, baskets, thatching spars, pegs, barrel hoops, and cropping for fodder. From personal experience, Chairman Mike Hildesley recalls: ‘hazel makes the best rods for water divining, the perfect little white wood ‘Y’ we needed at school as our locker peg, and passable bows and arrows. How we children enjoyed the hedge my mother planted to supply her bean poles!’

M Hildesley; S Morgan. Images A Wilson unless stated. 22nd June 2020. Updated June 2021.