The Tree That Never Grew......

City of Glasgow Coat of Arms, Botanic Gardens

There's the tree that never grew,

There's the bird that never flew,

There's the fish that never swam,

There's the bell that never rang.

The City of Glasgow's motto, incorporated into the City's Coat of Arms.  It's everywhere in Glasgow if you look up!  

City of Glasgow Coat of Arms, Royal Concert Hall

This website gives a bit of history to the legend of St Mungo and the symbolic elements contained in the City Coat of Arms, and the poem,  which is all very nice, but i'm interested in............

The Tree That Never Grew

Legend says that St Mungo, The Patron Saint of the City of Glasgow, was in charge of a holy fire in St Serf's Monastery and fell asleep. Some boys who were envious of his favoured position with St Serf put out the fire.  St Mungo broke off some frozen branches from a hazel tree and, by praying over them, caused them to burst into flames and the fire was re-lit.

St Mungo (also known as Kentigern) is said to have preached the sermon containing the words "Lord, let Glasgow Flourish by the preaching of the word." Which was shortened to "Let Glasgow Flourish" still in use today. 

Coat of Arms displayed in Glasgow's Oldest House, The Provand's Lordship,
Built in 1471 by Bishop Andrew Muirhead

In 1866 Lord Lyon, King at Arms gave approval for a Coat of Arms for the City of Glasgow, which incorporated a number of symbolic elements used on official Glasgow seals up until then, all of which were associated with St Mungo.  

Seal from Glasgow 1325, Image courtesy of Mitchell Library

The ancient seal of the Community of Glasgow. 1325 (above) shows the head of St Kentigern with the elements of the legends associated with his life: a bird perched on what is thought to be the hazel branch he caused miraculously to burst into flames; a fish with a ring in its mouth (Mungo recovered the ring given by King Rydderch Hael to Queen Languoreth, in the mouth of a salmon caught in the River Clyde), and the Bell which was rung in his memory.

Seal of Andrew Muirhead, Bishop of Glasgow featuring 3 salmon and 3 acorns

On the 15th Century Glasgow Cathedral Seal, (above), St Kentigern is represented in pontifical robes, with mitre and crosier. The Salmon and ring appear 3 times.  Below him is a shield bearing the arms of the Bishop of Glasgow', (1455-1473) Andrew Muirhead of Lauchope, It is in this seal that we first see the appearance of anything oak related.   The Muirhead of Lauchope Coat of Arms contains 3 acorns, the fruit of the oak tree. (below)

Muirhead of Lauchope Coat of Arms bearing 3 acorns

So, returning to the Glasgow Armorial Crest.  Historians looked at previous seals, like the ones above.  Queen Languoreth's Salmon with the Ring was incorporated, along with Mungo's bird and bell.  The hazel of St Mungo was changed to the Oak.  This may have been a matter of "artistic licence" on the part of the individual tasked with coming up with an Emblem for the the City, or it may have been a direct replication of the acorns that appear on Muirhead's Glasgow Cathedral Seal.  

It doesn't really matter why it was changed, these stories are based on legend, which has evolved throughout the years, so by definition, accuracy has gone out the window a long time ago.  

What is important is that it is now an oak, a symbol of strength, reflecting the historical acorns on the Muirhead Glasgow Cathedral seal.  It all adds to the aura that surrounds Bishop Andrew Muirhead of Lauchope and his contemporaries, sustaining interest into modern times.

But what of the real Oak trees that influenced this change?  For that we have to look at Bishop Muirhead's Family Seat at Lauchope, near Chapelhall, where the remains of the 15th century tower and 19th Century rebuild remain on site. (See previous blog posts for site history)

Lauchope, Chapelhall

Most of the trees in the Designed Landscape are approximately 200 years old, (give or take 50 years each way), however,  there are a number of ancient oaks on site, that would appear to be 300 - 400 years + which puts their planting date to when the Muirhead Family owned the land and gives them historical importance.

Acorns at Lauchope

As my background is in Horticulture and Botany, I want to know is there anything special about these ancient oaks?  How old really are they? Are they super old and haven't really grown much? Are these the children of the trees of legend? 


Are these the real "Trees that Never Grew?"

Sometimes there is more than a hint of truth in folklore and it does no harm to investigate and see what science can tell us.

Ancient Oak at Lauchope

Sadly, it looks like nobody is going to get the chance to answer any of these questions. Lauchope is currently owned by Developers and it is only a matter of time before the site becomes a Warehouse, or similar, .........it is more or less imminent.  

The ruins of the tower house lost forever, the rich biodiversity that the oak trees bring, left homeless, the fascinating genetics of the Muirhead Oaks will be obliterated, All, in the name of progress........

The Tree that Never Grew?

Finally, it doesn't seem right to have written about all of this, without including this lovely wee song from Hue & Cry, Mother Glasgow, which a good friend reminded me about earlier.

If you are interested in helping to save this site and these wonderful ancient oaks for the Local Community, please get in touch with the author, or see Lost Houses of the Clyde Valley on Facebook.  

Many thanks to Gordon Mason for historical information (and patter)