Trial Opens for 2 Men Accused of Felling Sycamore Gap Tree

The trial for two men accused of felling the celebrated Sycamore Gap tree in the north of England opened on Tuesday. The tree, a beloved landmark that stood by Hadrian’s Wall, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, was found illegally cut down in September 2023.

Two men — Daniel Graham, 39, and Adam Carruthers, 32, both from Cumbria, England — have pleaded not guilty to two charges of criminal destruction.

On Tuesday, they appeared in Newcastle Crown Court, in England’s northeast, less than an hour’s drive away from where the tree stump stands.

The trial had been delayed in December, because Mr. Graham was unwell and not able to stand trial, the BBC reported. The judge said that it was “highly desirable” and “strongly” in the public interest that the men be tried together.

The men were charged in April 2024. At the time, the senior officer in the case, Detective Chief Inspector Rebecca Fenney, asked people not to speculate online about the crime or the accused.

“We recognize the strength of feeling in the local community and further afield the felling has caused,” she said in a statement. “However, we would remind people to avoid speculation, including online, which could impact the ongoing case.”

Many had mourned the destruction of the tree, an icon that stood on Hadrian’s Wall, which spans 73 miles and was built by the Roman army in the second century.

The tree had long been a way marker and memory maker: a site of wedding proposals and remembrance ceremonies, a sentry in photos from one-in-a-lifetime family vacations, taped to fridges across the world. It also appeared in the 1991 film “Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves.”

It was almost 200 years old when it was illegally cut down.

In August, rangers spotted a few sprouts near its base, an unexpected sign of new life, and seeds and genetic material that scientists gathered from it last year have also started to grow. The National Trust intends to give out 49 saplings next year to spread the tree’s legacy.

That number is intentional, according to Andrew Poad, the general manager of Hadrian’s Wall, which is partly managed by the National Trust. The tree was 49 feet tall when it was felled. And the saplings will be about a foot tall when they are given to their recipients.

This is a breaking story. Please check back for updates.