Great Storm 1987

After the storm had past, the light of day revealed a changed landscape at Emmetts. Head Gardener at the time George Fillis was living in a lodge on the grounds at the time:

Former head gardener George Fillis

"I didn't hear any trees falling - just the roaring of the wind. When it became light, I could see there was a total change to the skyline, where all the big timber up the driveway had disappeared."

It's thought that 95% of the trees at Emmetts were blown down. Plants previously sheltered from wind and sun found themselves exposed, while seeds that had lain dormant for decades fed on the sun's rays and grew with enthusiasm.

Shade loving bluebells died back - only to return years later as the tree canopy recovered.

"It was obviously a shock to us," says George, "but because there was so much work to do, you didn't have time to dwell on it."

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Opportunity

The storm clouds did have a silver lining - here was a once-in-a-lifetime chance to re-plant from a bank canvas, to enjoy new views and to plan for the future.

"Everything you could see initially was just flat on the ground but it gave us opportunity - once we'd done the clearing up - to replant."

"Although we wanted to keep it within the context of a Victorian garden - a spring garden - we took the opportunity to put in autumn colour plants, giving us a double season," says George.

But nature was also keen to re-build. Fast growing trees such as birch were quick to capitalise on the blue skies, populating much of the woodland, accelerating above and beyond the slower-growers.

Twenty years on, the birch trees are still in control but they, over time, will be surpassed and out-lived by the more mature oak and beech species.

It may take another 100 years for all evidence of the Great Storm to be erased and for the natural hierarchy of our woods to re-assert itself.