The Hartford herald. [volume] (Hartford, Ky.) 1875-1926, 1909-01-06
TREE
The Cause Of SeraI Hard
Fought Legal HttIes.
ITS SITE WORTH MILLIONS.
But the Lawyers Never Have Been
Able to Break Through he Phalanx
of Legal Enaetments 7 1T Preserve
the Old Landmark In deapside.


There is a tree in ChPside, Lon
don, that may be desc1ed as the
most expensive of its xii on earth.
If five dollar gold pieces f. D the entire
trunk and five dollar billsbuttered in
place of every one of I'll leaves it
would not buy the terra flha it occu-
pies, for the land on whid it stands,
the northwest corner of Nood street
and .Cheapslde. is worth 100000 an
acre. The tree has stood the spot
for more than 200 years, will it's site
has augmented in value to most fab
ulous proportions.
There have been several \ BID fought
lawsuits over this plot of 3und, the
fight having been carried ebn to the
house of lords. But so far tk lawyers
never have been able to bred through
the phalanx of legal enactmbts which
preserve the tree, In the 4st place,
there is a law in England 1lich pro-
hlbits builders from nuttE up
structure which shall keen out the
light from windows which bear the
mysterious words ancient lights"
This tree in Cheapside Literary is sur
rounded by a number of t'ancient
lights" proprietors whose cor ent new
er has been obtained when it came
to cutting down the tree an putting
n modern structure on its jc. For
the same reason the storekeber who
rents the tiny two story strdture on
the corner just in front of he tree
never has been able to put II build
ing up Beyond its present heigi.
Some years ago one buildt, who
thought himself more "cute" IAN the
others, started to take the law Eto his
own hands and put up a Hiding,
thinking to ARRANGE" with the lwners
of the ancient lights" afterwa1 But
he was met with n perfect Slower
of inJunctions, proceedings, wri b and
indictments. more than would have
covered the tree in Its full kpring
bloom, and it is said he never LAS been
able TO pay the thousands Of dollars Of
law costs which his little experiment
resulted in.
A few years ago some gardeners
were ordered to lop off certain limbs OF
the tree which hung over Chnpslde
1t was done really to save the life of
the tree and with the consent of the
parish clerk ard churchwardens Of st.
Peters, Cheapside, the ancient little
Norman church in Foster lane, near by,
who guard this tree from the vndals'
clutches. When the men begin to
work on the tree, however, it cleated
a big sensation in Cheapside. They
are chopping down our tree" won't up
from a thousand angry threats n the
district. Policemen were called and
doubtless there would have been an
other shower Of writs. injunctions and
had not the minister Of
the parish explained the real rsason
for the looping operations.
Another almost impossible birrler
which protects the tree in its position
is the fact that IT grows in sicred
ground. There is n law in LondoI that
no building can be erected on slcred
ground without special act Of plrlia-
ment, and woe betide the unhappy
man who dares to put up even a shan
ty within the sacred precincts Of q
In England.
This particular corner of Chea)side
has been immortalized by Words
worth:
At the corner of Wood street when day
light appears
a thrush that sings aloud; It has
sung for three years.
This bird was wont to perch In the
now famous tree, and it attracted the
attention of Wordsworth, who used to
breakfast in a little shop near by. AS
far back as the year 1392-just hun
dred years before Mr.. Columbus dis
covered America-another tree stood
in this graveyard and is spoken Of by
Chaucer:
That whosoeyer ploynes 1t away,
He shall have Chrystis' curse for aye.
The tree is therefore a direct de-
scendant of perhaps the oldest tree on
record in England, and it may almost
be described as an English institution.
This particular portion of Cheapside
is back of the general postoffice and
is one of the finest pieces of real es-
tate in the world. With the tremen-
dous difficulties that stand in the way
of its being built over-the sanctity of
the land itself and the power of the
"ancient lights statute-it is prob
able that this piece of ground will re-
main ''unimproved" for another cen
fury or two In n recent interview the
of the real estate agents who
control nearly all the land in the dis
trict declared that 1.-THE old tree in
Cheapside occupies a position which is
likely never be built upon" There
would be a perfect howl Of execration
from all sides if any one were to at
tempt to put up a modern building
there, for Wood street itself is so
narrow that the people on both sides
of the street have a right to claim
"ancient lights" and the builder who
went in for Improving this property
would have to square" so many peo'
pie that he would never be able to get
any profit out Of the building,-New
York Press.