Northamptonshire village honours late Queen with magnificent Copper Beech tree

The sun shone upon Northamptonshire’s Lord Lieutenant and Daventry MP as they ‘dug in’ to support a tree-planting initiative in Long Buckby to honour the late queen.

The Copper Beech was funded by Long Buckby Parish Council and is the latest of 49 trees – all native species - planted in Long Buckby since 2019 by the Trees for Station Road group. It was chosen to be in keeping with seven historic Copper Beeches established in the village’s St Lawrence churchyard more than a century ago.

Advised by the Long Buckby and District Gardening Club, the group also sources and arranges plants in the grass verges and flower beds of the village’s main thoroughfare. The initiative is the brainchild of 77-year-old Long Buckby resident Maria Summerscale ably assisted by a dedicated fundraising team led by Lillian Wright. The Jubilee tree was also supported by the Buckby Meadows Residents Association.

‘Many people from the village have helped by sponsoring a tree or giving a generous donation,’ said Ms Summerscale. ‘We are making a visual and ecological difference to the village.

‘We are not just making the village look inviting and cared for; trees consume carbon dioxide and emit oxygen. Trees are the pillars for sustaining life on earth and a safeguard for future generations.

‘In many years to come, let this wonderful tree planted in remembrance of the late Queen, be an impressive feature on this meadow and a statement for the entrance to our village of Long Buckby,’ she added.