Oxford University Harcourt Arboretum

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United Kingdom - Oxfordshire - Oxford

Institution Code: HNOX

BGCI Member: Yes

ArbNet Accredited: Level IV

About the Oxford University Harcourt Arboretum

Harcourt Arboretum has been part of the University of Oxford since 1963. The site comprises 130 acres containing the best collection of trees in Oxfordshire with some of the oldest redwoods in the UK. Seasonal highlights include wildflower meadows, rhododendrons and bluebell woods. It is open through the year.

Main Address:
Oxford University Harcourt Arboretum
Peacock Lodge
Nuneham Courtenay
Oxford
Oxfordshire OX44 9PX United Kingdom

Telephone: 01865 286695
Fax:
URL: www.harcourt-arboretum.ox.ac.uk
Primary Email: postmaster@obg.ox.ac.uk

Staff Details

  • Director's Name: Prof Simon Hiscock
    Curator's Name: Ben Jones
    Plant Records Officer's Name:
  • Total Staff:
    Horticultural Staff Number: 4
    Educational Staff Number: 2
    Research Staff Number: 1
    Administration Staff Number: 3

About the Garden

  • Institution Type: Botanic Garden
  • Status
  • Status: Private: Yes
    Status: Educational: Yes
    Status: Satellite: Yes
  • Date founded: 1835
  • Physical Data
  • Natural Vegetation Area: Yes
  • Landscaped Area: Yes
  • Total Area: 32 Hectares
    Latitude: 51.684509
    Longitude: -1.19847
    Annual Rainfall: 612 mm
    Altitude: 108.00 Metres
  • Additional Locations
  • Satellite Garden Names: Oxford University Botanic Garden
  • Locality: Information
  • Locality: Garden Name: Oxford Botanic Garden
  • Local Address: Rose Lane, Oxford OX1 4AZ
  • Locality: City: Oxford
  • Locality: State: Oxfordshire

Features and Facilities

  • Herbarium: Yes
    Arboretum: Yes
    Arboretum Size: 57
  • Published Plant Catalogue: Yes
    Computer Plant Record System: Yes
  • Open to public: Yes
    Friends society: Yes
    Retail Outlet: Shop: Yes
    Retail Outlet: Plant Sales: No
    Disabled access: Yes
  • Number of Visitors: 35000
    Number of Volunteers: 35

Plant Collections

  • Accession Number: 1976
    Cultivation Taxa Num: 250
  • Special Collections:The University of Harcourt Arboretum contains a diverse collection of plants which are not only grown for their amenity or structural value, but are also used for:

    Reference; e.g. plant identification, education and interpretation.
    Taxonomic, conservation, horticultural or ethno-botanic research.
    Ex-situ plant conservation.

    The Arboretum has a diverse and rich history, not only in the landscape but in the continued development of botany as a science. The Botanic Garden being the oldest in the country, 390 years old, with Harcourt Arboretum dating back to 1835. Archbishop Harcourt instructed one of the main exponents of the Picturesque landscape movement, William Sawrey Gilpin, to lay out a Pinetum. Gilpin achieved this in the years following 1835, using many of the newly introduced conifers from the West Coast of America.

    The Arboretum is a living and dynamic collection of plants. To continue the great works that have gone before us, it is vital that through our management and utilization of these plants, we engage with plant conservation and renewal, not preservation. Harcourt Arboretum is synonymous with North American conifers, specifically from the North Pacific West Coast, and in order to continue this legacy for future generations, it is of paramount importance that we work actively to build a future into the planting at the Arboretum, ensuring the age structure of our plants reflects this.
  • Invasive Species Monitoring: Yes
    ABS Policy: Yes
    Plant Collection Policy: Yes

Conservation Programmes

  • Conservation Programme: Yes
    Ex Situ Conservation Programme: Yes
    Reintroduction Programme: Yes

Research Programmes

  • Conservation - Biology: Yes
    Conservation - Genetics: Yes
    Ecology: Yes
    Ecosystem Conservation: Yes
    Restoration Ecology: Yes
    Land Restoration: Yes

Education Programmes

  • Education Signs in Garden: Yes
    Public Lectures/Talks: Yes
    Guided Tours: Yes
    Permanent Public Displays: Yes
    Special Exhibitions: Yes
    Courses for School Children: Yes
    Courses for University/College Students: Yes
    Courses for General Public: Yes
    Education Programme: Yes