Tree cathedral

Nave of Whipsnade Tree Cathedral in 2005

Lodi cattedrale vegetale in 2018

A tree cathedral is an arboretum laid out so the arrangement of the trees creates the typical architectural elements of the nave, chancel, and transepts usually constructed from masonry in a typical medieval cathedral.

Examples of tree cathedrals include:

• Whipsnade Tree Cathedral in Bedfordshire, England. It was planted from 1932 by the lawyer Edmond Blyth as a First World War memorial, inspired by Liverpool Anglican Cathedral. It was donated to the National Trust in 1960, and became a Grade II registered garden in 2017.
• The tree cathedral planted 1986 at Newlands, near central Milton Keynes, to a design by the landscape architect Neil Higson, based on Norwich Cathedral.
• De Groene Kathedraal, Almere, Netherlands, based on Reims Cathedral
• The cattedrale vegetale at Malga Costa, in the Val di Sella in northern Italy, a project commenced in 2001 (see Arte Sella), and a second one at Lodi, Lombardy, for Expo 2015; both by the Italian artist Giuliano Mauri.

References

• Whipsnade Tree Cathedral, Historic England
• Whipsnade Tree Cathedral, National Trust
• Inside Britain's magnificent Tree Cathedral – and five more arboreal structures , The Telegraph, 5 December 2017
• Tree Cathedral, The Parks Trust, Milton Keynes
• Cattedrale vegetale