The National Trust has launched a commission inviting artists and organisations to create works from the remaining timber of the Sycamore Gap tree, which stood beside Hadrian’s Wall for up to 120 years. The tree was felled on 28 September 2023 during Storm Agnes, in the pitch black, by Daniel Graham and Adam Carruthers. Following a trial at Newcastle Crown Court, the pair were jailed for four years and three months after being convicted of criminal damage to the tree and to Hadrian’s Wall.

The National Trust says the commission seeks to turn that loss into hope, creative possibility, and reconnection with the natural world. Around half of the timber will be available for the project. An existing piece of art using a large part of the trunk has already gone on show at The Sill visitor centre, run by Northumberland National Park.

Annie Reilly, the National Trust’s public engagement director, said: “Two years ago, we lost something very special from a much-loved landscape. This commission is a way of marking that iconic tree’s legacy while continuing an important conversation about our collective relationship with nature. After carefully looking after the wood since the felling, we’re now ready to bring it back to the people, in a completely new and transformed way. We want artists and organisations to come up with proposals that will inspire the public to connect with nature and the landscapes around them, using the timber as a symbolic focal point. It could be a design for a single artwork for one location or several pieces or something more dispersed or participatory. We want to reach and engage many people and can’t wait to see the ideas.”