Bishop William Bedell's Sycamore tree was planted by him in 1632 at the Kilmore Cathedral Cavan just a few minutes from our workshop.
Bishop William Bedell (1571) was appointed Provost of Trinity College in 1627 and in 1629 became Bishop of Kilmore and Ardagh.
He is essentially most famous for translating the old testament into Irish. He planted the tree in the original garden of the old bishop’s palace which later became part of Kilmore churchyard and when he died in 1642 he was buried beneath this tree. It is believed to be one of the earliest examples of this tree in Ireland. About 20 years ago one of the limbs fell in a storm and its part of that limb we were lucky to receive as a gift as part of a commission in 2015. The wood has a creamy colour to it and a simple grain, a very rare and beautiful wood we are honored to craft with.
