A tree by Hadrian's Wall, among England's most famous vegetables, was felled in the night last September, under cover of Storm Agnes. Authorities have concluded their investigation and charged two men with the crime.
Daniel Graham, 38, and Adam Carruthers, 31, were charged with causing criminal damage and damaging the wall built in A.D. 122 by Emperor Hadrian to guard the northwest frontier of the Roman Empire. They were ordered to appear in Newcastle Magistrates' Court on May 15.The sycamore's majestic canopy between two hills made it a popular subject for landscape photographers.
The context appears to be locals annoyed at the stream of tourists, and so wound the trail of evidence. The accused were originally arrested in October, but it took months to build a case.
The National Trust, which owns the land where the tree stood, said it will take up to three years to see if new growth sprouts from the sycamore's stump.
The trust removed the tree and was hopeful that about a third of the seeds and cuttings it collected could later be planted.
Americans of a certain age will be familiar with the now-stunted but not quite dead Sycamore from the movie Prince of Thieves. The tree's felled trunk was removed and there is a consultation process underway to decide what to make it into, but there's been no word on it for months as the mourning process continues. It's among the English, real Lothlórien shit.
