In 1829 the spire of St Antholin's church in the City of London was removed, but there is disagreement as to the reason. Robert Harrild had a very successful business nearby and recognised that the spire was unique of its time, being designed by Sir Christopher Wren and built from stone when all others were timber framed and clad with tiles or lead. So he bought the spire and had it moved to his large estate in Forest Hill, to be preserved. The huge gardens were subsequently developed for housing, etc, leaving only this Cedar Tree, along with the spire, looking somewhat incongruous in this setting.

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