Because wood was so important to the Tudor economy, great care was taken to ensure a long-term supply of it. Two of the methods used to produce a crop of smaller timbers were coppicing and pollarding. When a big tree is chopped down, small branches grow out of the stump These were harvested after a period of between 4 and 20 years, depending on how big the forester wanted the branches to grow. Different parts of the wood or copse would be felled in different years. This made sure there was a constant supply of timber.

The tree on the left is part of a coppice, with the trunk cut off at ground level. The one on the right has been felled at a height of about two metres. This was done to stop animals eating the young growing shoots. This technique is called pollarding. Would you like to learn even more about forestry?