Faithful guardian of the flame

The stately beech tree which stood beside the main driveway to the College is no more.  Seriously diseased for some years, the tree had reached the end of its life and was removed for reasons of health and safety on the advice of two independent arborists. 

A landmark for generations of students, the beech was a striking bellwether of the seasons.  It was almost 200 years old, and thus pre-dates the establishment of the College in 1875. Beech trees have a great symbolic significance for an educational institution as they are associated with writing and learning – the word beech in closely associated with the old English word for book and the Sanskrit word for letters or writing. 

No doubt it was this which inspired Ovid when he described the beech as the faithful guardian of the flame: 

Incisae servant a te mea nomina fagi,
Et legor Cenone, falce notata tua;
Et quantum trunci, tantum mea nomina crescunt.

(The Beeches, faithful guardians of your flame,
Bear on their wounded trunks Cenone's name;
And as the trunks, so still the letters grow.)

 

 

 

 

Last Updated: Tuesday September 22 2009