All That Remains

By Jason Orton

Tree, Dartford, Kent, 2009

For the past three years, I have photographed what is left of an arboretum on the site of the Joyce Green Hospital in Dartford, Kent, southeast of London, England. The hospital was opened in 1903 for the treatment of patients who had contracted smallpox and other infectious diseases.

Between 1919 and 1935, the hospital’s gardener, Harry Hopkins, planted more than 500 exotic trees around the hospital complex. The hospital was closed in 2000. In 2006, the abandoned buildings were demolished while many of the trees continued to thrive.

The local council then decided to build a new “sustainable community” and applied orders to preserve more than 200 of an estimated 1,250 trees, including stands of English elm and sycamore. A cursory study of the site suggested that far fewer than 200 survived. I was concerned that some of these trees had been chopped down, and felt compelled to produce a visual record of those that remain. — Jason Orton

Comments (3) | JUMP TO MOST RECENT COMMENT >>

where are the pictures?

tricky P
12.30.09 at 03:50

Apparently one one tree was left.

Tuan
12.30.09 at 06:29

This photo is representative of a series Jason Orton is working on. He requested that only this image be shown.

Julie Lasky
12.31.09 at 10:08

Design Observer encourages comments to be short and to the point; as a general rule, they should not run longer than the original post. Comments should show a courteous regard for the presence of other voices in the discussion. We reserve the right to edit or delete comments that do not adhere to this standard.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Jason Orton has been a photographer for over ten years. His photographs combine topographical observation with a personal, cultural and literary interpretation of place.
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