Lost Woodland Ghost

Many of us feel the ghosts of lost woodland lingering in the countryside. The wild-wood that once covered the British Isles still echoes in place-names - the ‘Wald’ or ‘Wold’ or the Yorkshire Wolds meaning forest, ‘Hurst’ meaning wooded hill, ‘holt’ meaning wood, ‘leah’, ‘leigh’ or ‘ley’ - a clearing in a wood. But it has been a long time since this land was densely forested - by the eleventh century, the landscape of England already looked similar to how it does today; rolling pasture land already replacing the oak, hazel and birch forests, the wood cut and used for ship-building, fuel, timber. The Enclosure Acts of the 18th century turned much common woodland into Crown property, shrinking the forested areas down further. But the spirit of woodland still remains on the edges of cities, or just past the gate at the end of town ... and you can still find them in old maps and stories. The landscape moves with time and leaves some things behind. Old woodland paths still cross over roads and through farms, fenced-off yews stay standing alone for thousands of years, stone cairns jutting from heathland marking way-points through empty spaces.

Since the first world war, the planting of new woodland has meant the land we walk today now has almost the same forest cover as the land tilled, farmed, and ploughed in the days of William the Conquerer. The quiet echoes of trees - Well, they are gone, and here must we remain.

At this time of year the trees appear to show their own grief for lost ancestors. Through September leaves are shed leaving bare boughs black against the skyline. The woodlands are the starkest reminder of seasonal change and the passing of years.

Lost Woodland Ghosts have been hand illustrated in pen and ink by Mrs Humphreys who is the artist responsible from past Black Box Ghosts the Poison Garden and Kraken editions. They are numbered, signed and stamped on the base with the stamp of Mrs Humphreys. All of the illustrations are slightly different and these are allocated at random from the edition, their compositional subtleties and colour differences are particular to the nature of these hand made and illustrated Ghosts.

£5 from the sale of each Ghost will go to the Woodland Trust the UK’s largest woodland conservation charity. Have a look at their website to read more about how they protect, restore and create woodlands in the British Isles.

https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/about-us/what-we-do/

H 8.5 x D 5.5 x W 4.5cm

Limited edition of 100 . Released online only