Читать книгу A Book of Britain: The Lore, Landscape and Heritage of a Treasured Countryside - Johnny Scott - Страница 37

Next to oaks, ash trees were probably the most highly prized for their speed of growth and the strength and elasticity of their wood. Ash thrives on fairly damp soils, provided conditions are not too acidic and there is plenty of light. It is widespread across Britain, with ash woodland found on the steep limestone slopes of the Derbyshire Peak District, in Somerset, South Wales and south-western Scotland. In Ireland, the old forests in limestone areas were once a mixed woodland of ash and elm, and although these were cleared long ago, ash is still the most common large tree in Irish lowland hedges.

Ash wood is as tough as oak, does not splinter and is so flexible that a joist of it will bear more weight before it breaks than one of any other tree. It was used – and still is – for any implement handles that required tensile strength and shock-absorbent properties, such as axes, hammers, hoes, brooms, spades or forks. At one time ash was used for bows, arrows and spear hafts, and the name is said to derive from Aesc, the Saxon word for spear. Ash was coppiced for hop poles, ladder struts and for making the finest oars, whilst young ash shoots were used to make walking sticks, hoops, hurdles and crates. The Celtic war chariots were made of ash and, later, ash wood was in demand by cart and carriage makers – in 1901, the Coachbuilders’ Association appealed to the President of the Board of Agriculture to try to stimulate landowners to grow more of this valuable timber. The body frames of early aircraft and railway goods carriages were made of ash, and today the chassis of Morgan sports cars are still made of seasoned ash wood. Skis were once made of ash and it is commonly used for hockey sticks, snooker cues and for the hurley bat used in the popular Irish sport of hurling. ‘The clash of the ash’ is a familiar phrase used by Irish sports journalists and commentators when trying to convey the excitement of a hurling match.