What are Canterbury's baobab planes?

Seven plane trees scattered across Canterbury whose trunks swell outward like an African baobab's. Four are on this map: in Westgate Gardens, at the castle ruins, in the cathedral precincts and on Old Dover Road.

Can you see them for free?

Three of the four, yes. Westgate Gardens, the castle grounds and the pavement on Old Dover Road cost nothing. The cathedral precincts are ticketed.

Local tradition credits the nurseryman William Masters, who lived from 1796 to 1874, and the Cathedral Archive recognises him for the precincts tree. No archive record of the plantings has been published.

United Kingdom

Ancient Trees in Canterbury

Canterbury's strangest trees are its baobab planes, a scattered set of seven whose trunks swell outward like the African tree's. Four of them are here. The biggest, beside Tower House in Westgate Gardens, is about 200 years old and 7.6 metres round; the others stand at the castle ruins, in the cathedral precincts and beside a bus stop on Old Dover Road. Nobody agrees what they are, Oriental Planes by the plaques or a virus-swollen London Plane clone by the Natural History Museum, nor quite who planted them.

Highlights

Westgate Gardens Baobab Plane

London Plane · 200 years

Photo: Oast House Archive (CC BY-SA 2.0)

All 4 trees

Westgate Gardens Baobab Plane

London Plane · 200 years

Canterbury has a plane tree that people keep comparing to an African baobab, and nobody quite agrees what it is. The trunk beside Tower House in Westgate Gardens bulges out like a barrel, 7.6 metres round by the figure Parks and Gardens gives and closer to ten by one photographer's caption on Wikimedia Commons. The sign on the ground calls it an Oriental Plane, and so does the city's archaeological society. The Natural History Museum's identification service, asked about Canterbury's swollen planes in 2014, concluded they are a clone of the London Plane carrying a viral infection. The sources still differ, and both names are in use. Visit Canterbury and Parks and Gardens put it at about 200 years old. The gardens' own tree trail calls it the largest and probably the oldest of its kind in the country, a local claim that no national register we have seen backs up. Local theory goes further still, holding that this is the parent of the city's other baobab planes, all planted by the nurseryman William Masters, who lived from 1796 to 1874. Nobody has proved it. Nor has anybody proved the rumour that the trunk once swallowed a bench. Standing beside it, you can see how that story got started. The gardens run along the River Stour, free to enter, five minutes on foot from Canterbury West.

Photo: Oast House Archive (CC BY-SA 2.0)

Canterbury Castle Baobab Plane

London Plane · 150-200 years

Mark Canterbury's seven baobab planes on a map and, by one local theory, they form a cross. This is one of the arms, a knobbly, swollen-trunked plane at the north-east corner of the castle ruins, beside Gas Street. The theory belongs to the local enthusiast Sadie Palmer, and nobody has shown that the pattern was planned rather than a coincidence of where planes happened to be put. What is not in doubt is the trunk. Like its relatives in Westgate Gardens and the cathedral precincts, it bulges as though something inside were pushing outward. The city's archaeological society first called these trees Oriental Planes; in 2014 the Natural History Museum's identification service told them the set is a clone of the London Plane with a viral infection. The sources still disagree on the name. No archive records when it went in. KentOnline says the baobab planes were planted more than 150 years ago, and a tree blog that toured them guesses the middle of the 19th century, so the range here stays wide. The most recent accounts of it standing are the archaeological society's pages and a 2019 newspaper piece. If you walk past and it is gone, or still very much there, tell us. The castle grounds are free and five minutes from Canterbury West.

Cathedral Precincts Baobab Plane

London Plane · 150-200 years

The plaque on this plane names a date and a nurseryman, and the evidence behind it may be a website. It says the tree is an Oriental plane, supplied in the 1820s by William Masters, a Canterbury nurseryman who lived from 1796 to 1874. The Cathedral Archive credits Masters with planting it, according to KentOnline. But a member of the city's archaeological society has said the plaque's wording rests on text from the society's own website rather than on any archive record. So the 1820s date is a claim, not a fact. KentOnline puts the baobab planes at more than 150 years old and one tree blog suggests the middle of the 19th century. The species is contested too. The plaque says Oriental; the Natural History Museum's identification service, consulted in 2014, concluded that Canterbury's swollen planes are a clone of the London Plane carrying a viral infection. Whatever its name, the trunk explains the nickname, swollen and bulging like a baobab's. It stands in the cathedral precincts just outside the Memorial Garden, near the Son of Man statue, one of seven such planes scattered across the city. The precincts are ticketed, so check the cathedral's current terms before you go. It is about twelve minutes on foot from either station.

Old Dover Road Baobab Plane

London Plane · 150-200 years

One of Canterbury's oddest trees is a street tree, standing on the pavement of Old Dover Road next to a bus stop. Most people who pass it are waiting for the bus. It is one of the city's seven baobab planes, named for trunks that swell outward like the African tree. What exactly it is remains disputed. The city's archaeological society first called the set Oriental Planes, and the plaque on the cathedral's tree still does. In 2014 the Natural History Museum's identification service concluded they are a clone of the London Plane with a viral infection. Both names circulate. Nobody has found a record of the planting. KentOnline says the baobab planes went in more than 150 years ago, and a tree blog that went looking for all seven places them in the middle of the 19th century. Both are estimates. The pin is placed near Vernon Place, so look along that stretch for the bus stop and the swollen trunk beside it. The last published accounts of it standing date from 2019 and the society's current pages; tell us if you find it changed. It is about ten minutes on foot from Canterbury East.

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Frequently asked

What are Canterbury's baobab planes?: Seven plane trees scattered across Canterbury whose trunks swell outward like an African baobab's. Four are on this map: in Westgate Gardens, at the castle ruins, in the cathedral precincts and on Old Dover Road.
Are they Oriental Planes or London Planes?: Sources differ. Plaques and early accounts call them Oriental Planes; in 2014 the Natural History Museum's identification service concluded they are a clone of the London Plane with a viral infection.
Can you see them for free?: Three of the four, yes. Westgate Gardens, the castle grounds and the pavement on Old Dover Road cost nothing. The cathedral precincts are ticketed.
Who planted them?: Local tradition credits the nurseryman William Masters, who lived from 1796 to 1874, and the Cathedral Archive recognises him for the precincts tree. No archive record of the plantings has been published.
Species on this list: Every London Plane on the site
More like this: One of these trees also appears in The Oldest Tree in Every City We Map.
Ancient trees in nearby cities: Groton · London · Brighton · Runnymede · Argoules · Lo · Cambridge · Crécy-en-Ponthieu · Every city on the map

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