Page:TheTreesOfGreatBritainAndIreland vol01Plates.djvu/122

 Plate 58 represents the trunk of what I believe to be the finest beech in Gloucestershire, which is known as "The Gladstone Beech," having been specially admired by the late Mr. Gladstone when staying at Cirencester House. It grows near Pinbury Park, formerly the seat of Sir Robert Atkyns, author of The History of Gloucestershire, and now the summer residence of Earl Bathurst. It measures about 110 feet high by 19 feet 9 inches in girth at the smallest part of the trunk, and though a very old tree, past its prime, is still a magnificent object. I am indebted for the negative to Mr. T.A. Gerald Strickland.