Artists invited to breathe life into Sycamore Gap tree

Artists are being invited to breathe life into the felled Sycamore Gap tree on the second anniversary of it being chopped down.

The National Trust is asking for creative bids to use the remnants of the famous tree, which stood beside Hadrian’s Wall for up to 120 years.

Once Britain’s most photographed tree, the sycamore was a symbol of Northumberland and it was the backdrop to marriage proposals, family day-trips and a meaningful place to scatter ashes.

But on September 28 2023, Daniel Graham and Adam Carruthers travelled from Cumbria during Storm Agnes and, in the pitch black, they felled the tree with a chainsaw, then revelled in the subsequent outrage.

Daniel Graham and Adam Carruthers, who were jailed after being convicted of felling the tree illegally (Northumbria Police/PA)PA Media - Northumbria Police

Following a trial at Newcastle Crown Court, the pair were jailed for four years and three months after being convicted of criminal damage to the tree and to Hadrian’s Wall.

The senseless destruction of a much-loved landmark led to an outpouring of emotion across the country and internationally.

The National Trust said its commission “seeks to turn that loss into a sense of hope, creative possibility, and reconnection with the natural world”.

Around half of the tree’s timber will be available for the project.

An existing piece of art using a large part of the trunk has already gone on show at The Sill visitor centre, run by Northumberland National Park.

The tree had grown for around 120 years when it was felled (Owen Humphreys/PA)PA Wire/PA Images - Owen Humphreys

Annie Reilly, the National Trust’s public engagement director, said: “Two years ago, we lost something very special from a much-loved landscape.

“This commission is a way of marking that iconic tree’s legacy while continuing an important conversation about our collective relationship with nature.

“After carefully looking after the wood since the felling, we’re now ready to bring it back to the people, in a completely new and transformed way.

“We want artists and organisations to come up with proposals that will inspire the public to connect with nature and the landscapes around them, using the timber as a symbolic focal point.

A piece of art using a section of trunk has already gone on show, commissioned by Northumberland National Park Authority (NNPA/PA)PA Media - Bigger Picture/NNPA

“It could be a design for a single artwork for one location or several pieces or something more dispersed or participatory.

“We want to reach and engage many people and can’t wait to see the ideas.”

Information on how to bid for the commission will be available on the National Trust website.

A shortlist will be drawn up, with the winner announced in February.