Holt Copse and Joel Park is, at 9.3 hectares, the largest and most diverse of the 8 parks managed by Wokingham Town Council. The land has a long history going back to at least the 15th century. As coppice and meadows they were part of the Beaches Manor and later Holt estates, owned and rented out by a succession of wealthy families.
In 1924 the Crutchley family transferred some land to the Borough of Wokingham for pleasure gardens. Councillors named this Joel Park after Solomon Joel, a local financier and benefactor. In 1929 the Holt Estate, including woodlands and parklands, was acquired by the Borough of Wokingham so Holt School could open in 1931. In 1986 Holt Copse and Joel Park were transferred to the ownership of Wokingham Town Council.
In 1935 Alderman F C Bartlett led a public ceremony to celebrate the Silver Jubilee of King George V. Two avenues of trees were planted in Holt Meadows (now part of Joel Park).- a long avenue of green oaks inter-planted with silver birches and a short avenue of red oaks inter-planted with Lombardy poplars. A few silver birches remain but the poplars are long gone. However they can be seen in an old aerial photograph of Holt School. The long avenue is now called Jubilee Avenue and the short avenue, Connaught Avenue.
Holt Copse is listed in the English Nature Ancient Woodland Inventory 1995 as an ancient, semi-natural woodland and Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust has designated it a Local Wildlife Heritage site. Oak predominates (over 90%), with small numbers of ash, alder and cherry. In earlier times the trees in the Copse were apparently managed (lower branches removed) to form ‘standards’ with single, straight trunks intended for timber, very different from the more widely-spaced oaks along Jubilee Avenue.
Little maintenance was done in Holt Copse during the latter part of the last century. The under-planted hazel became swamped by holly which also supressed the herbaceous flora.
In 1999 a group of local residents formed Holt Copse Conservation Volunteers (HCCV) and offered to manage the Copse on behalf of the Town Council. Initially the group concentrated on removing excess holly, coppicing any surviving hazel and planting more where it was sparse. With increasing confidence and growing numbers, and with various grants, the group improved paths, built bridges and erected signs that illustrate the wildlife found in the wood.
Many red oaks in Connaught Avenue died because the ground was waterlogged for much of the year, but new drains have been laid and dead trees replaced. Hopefully Wokingham residents will be able to enjoy the spectacular autumn colours of the red oaks in Joel Park for many more years.
Michael Saynor and Barbara Stagles
