Money Does Grow on Trees
by R J Evans on 11/10/09 at 3:44 am
Did your mother ever chastise you with the words ‘money doesn’t grow on trees’ in a possibly fruitless attempt to curb your profligate ways? Well, maybe – just maybe – she was wrong. There are places in England where money apparently does just that.
Perhaps it is to simply good luck or perhaps people believe that by leaving a coin in the bark of the tree they may have it returned to them many times over. Whatever the origins of this strange habit, there are a number of trees in the United Kingdom that bear the financial hopes of many. Perhaps they found it difficult to reconcile their gross habits with their net income.
The people of Yorkshire, in the north of England are renowned for being careful with their money. While this localized stereotype may not always be fair there is evidence that on occasion they are willing to throw caution to the wind and hammer their low denomination coinage in to trees. The good folk of Ingleton in North Yorkshire have some of the most stunning woodlands in the country and the local waterfalls trail has something other to offer than the sight of the wet stuff cascading in a picturesque way.
Close up it seems as if the coins have almost merged with the wood, but that is the effect of the weather upon the metal. Some suggest that the reason money is pushed in to the bark is more than just a desire to increase one’s wealth. It is thought that the amount of coins pushed in by an individual may result in them producing the same amount of children when their natural fecundity discovers a partner. The tree itself, though long since alive, has come to bear a marked resemblance to the torso of some sort of lizard, the coins becoming its scales. It is almost Arthurian in its strangeness.
You do not even have to leave the county to see another tree which is pitted with hundreds of coins. Bolton Abbey, famous for the wonderful ruins of a twelfth century priory also has its own money tree. The fact that two trees of the same kind are found in the same county may well say something about its inhabitants. If perhaps you are of the opinion that money can do anything, you might after all be accused of doing anything for money. Perhaps those visiting these trees would have been better off simply putting a little money away in a savings account each month. In a year they would be surprised at how little they have.
It is said that if all the rich people in the world divided their money up between themselves then there almost certainly would not be enough to go around. Perhaps wishing for money is one thing, but getting it is another. As they say, when the gods wish to punish us, then they give us what we want. Cicero, way back before the Christian era said that endless money created the sinews of war – and nothing is truer than that two thousand years later.
If you are ever taken on a jaunt to Cumbria then you should not forget to visit Ambleside over the Kirkstone Pass. Aira Force, again the site of a beautiful waterfall – one of the best known waterfalls in the Lake District in fact – is home to yet another money tree. If Poirot was around today he would perhaps be profiling those people who use trees for this sort of decoration. Firstly, the north of England, secondly they generally seem to be close to waterfalls. Throw in a good murder mystery and you might well have the basis of a Christie-esque novel.
Dovedale in Derbyshire is the home of the one above – so the plot thickens. Owned by the National Trust in the UK, it annually attracts over a million visitors to its beautiful scenery. And strangely enough, a river runs through it. The plot thickens. If you happen to go there in hunt of the money tree, don’t forget that you can also see the famous caves known as the Dove Holes, which sound something like a SM heavy metal band, but there you go.
Teesdale is a somewhat colder place than the rest of those which have money trees. It is in a valley on the east side of the Pennine mountains in England. It is an official AONB in the UK – an Area Of Outstanding Beauty. The River Tees rises below the highest river, Cross Fell and although within England the local climate is classified as sub-arctic. Snow has been known to fall there in June. Whatever the reasons people have stuck coins in these trees, one can only hope that the wish they made when they did it come true. One can only hope it was not for wealth as that has been seen to fail to make people happy as readily as poverty.
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69 Comments
martie
Oct 11th, 2009
With the unemployment rate here in Michigan, I can just picture people here prying all these pennies, and nickles back out of the trees!
emmahaynes
Oct 11th, 2009
I’m from Yorkshire yet I’ve never seen this before! That’s crazy! well done, great write!
Nicko
Oct 11th, 2009
uniQue! Great!
See-ming Lee 李思明 SML
Oct 11th, 2009
Haha this is an interesting perspective!
Sourav
Oct 11th, 2009
Really crazy! But an interesting write for sure!
Mark Gordon Brown
Oct 11th, 2009
One cannot help but wonder what do the coins do to the trees? Those are the most wealthy trees in the world, but did money buy them happiness?
Anne Lyken Garner
Oct 11th, 2009
Weird! The people in Yorkshire do some funny things. I think that’s also where they have the kick-shins and blackpudding throwing contests.
A refreshing article.
Jane Benitez
Oct 11th, 2009
Wow! What amazing article – unbelievable and I really enjoyed the pictures.
C Jordan
Oct 11th, 2009
I’ve got my saw and am heading off to find those trees!
Glynis Smy
Oct 11th, 2009
Fascinating article, I learned something new, thanks.
Borneon
Oct 11th, 2009
Cool..very interesting ..
KamaraAlex
Oct 11th, 2009
Great now i have an argument to return to my mom when she says money doesn’t grow on trees
Write Easy
Oct 11th, 2009
THis is really interesting!! and it kind of looks really weird and spooky…:)
paramarora
Oct 11th, 2009
Good Work. Excellent Information
Diverseblogger
Oct 11th, 2009
Yes very interesting! I love the pictures!! Keep up the great work
sihana
Oct 11th, 2009
This was a bit more than I was hoping for.
deep blue
Oct 11th, 2009
Interesting post.
phlybynight
Oct 11th, 2009
Well done!
Lauren Axelrod
Oct 11th, 2009
How very odd.
ko
Oct 11th, 2009
Wow, good job.
Ruby Hawk
Oct 11th, 2009
I had never heard of that custom, How weird and nice. I love the idea.
James DeVere
Oct 11th, 2009
Scoop! As ever you have inspired . Thank-you . j
Tlchimes
Oct 11th, 2009
Hmmm….. if it were in the land of the Irish I would say they were gifts left fot the Fey Folks. I leave a shiny penny a year under a garden rock for good fortune and to keep the fairies from stealing my keys.
kingryanv
Oct 12th, 2009
This is really cool. It is surprising that no one has stolen anything, although I guess it is a landmark so stealing from it would be a bad thing to do.
Anne McNew
Oct 12th, 2009
This is my first time to hear about this. Great information. Thanks for the share.
strovek
Oct 12th, 2009
what an incredible find. Thank you.
magicdarts
Oct 12th, 2009
Very interesting – I have seen this in a couple of English Lakeland pubs where the coins have been hammered into the bark, but had no idea it was so widespread around the place – excellent read thanks!
papaleng
Oct 12th, 2009
Another amazing article worth sharing to friends. you have my like.
soubriquet
Oct 12th, 2009
As a Yorkshireman, I’m familiar with some of those trees. It’s a custom, not unlike throwing coins into fountains and clear pools, the original reasons for it are forgotten, but we still do it, because an old tree full of pennies is pretty cool.
Look upon it as folk art.
The suggestion that it’s an offering to the spirits of a place, or the fairy folk is quite appealing, and it offers a possible answer to how the Tooth Fairy’s activities are funded.
I’ve been in a few pubs where the bar has ancient oak beams, there’s a custom of wedging coins into the cracks, and challenging strangers to pull them out, using no tools, just their fingers. You can keep anything you can pull out.
But nobody ever succeeds. Oak grabs things pretty well. After the coin’s been there a few days the oak swells back, tightening its grip.
In my local pub, we have another custom. there’s a ledge above the bar. With coins along it. The shrapnel shelf. If you’re short of the price of a round of drinks by a few pence, you reach up and grab what you need.
Of course, on other days, when you get your change, you put a few pennies up there for the next customer. (we call a handful of small denomination coins “shrapnel”)
Karlonto
Oct 12th, 2009
Oh wow, is it real? Truly astonishing, I have never heard or seen something like that. I certainly like it!
sXe Mare
Oct 12th, 2009
Investing in the promotion of greenery… Nice.
kashish786
Oct 12th, 2009
interesting one .
Joe Dorish
Oct 12th, 2009
I’ve always thought about wading into fountains where people throw coins and now I’m thinking about carving up a money tree.
Julia L. White
Oct 12th, 2009
Near Rockford Illinois they would most certainly pull the money off the trees…you can’t even leave home in some neighborhoods, they will take your siding and gutters!
Payge
Oct 12th, 2009
Now I can tell my mother I saw a tree with money in it,she may not believe me since she is in her 60s.But an unusual article and the pictures was great.
mystery writter
Oct 12th, 2009
An aewsome article and never heard of before.But where I live they would not leave the coins in the trees unfortunatly.
revivor
Oct 13th, 2009
great stuff – love the pics too!!
(the “Cross Fell” “highest river” bit doesn’t read quite right??)
overwings
Oct 13th, 2009
England often surprises me with these little treasures. Never heard of those money trees. I will look for them in my next trip.
beldobie
Oct 13th, 2009
Fascinating article.
hasoony
Oct 13th, 2009
nice job mate
itzthesoul
Oct 13th, 2009
Lol i want that tree
fishfry aka Elizabeth Figueroa
Oct 13th, 2009
Very interesting, I have two thoughts, perhaps in these areas lots of coins were buried and as the foilage grew, the coins became part of it.
As for does money grow on tree, no, but the paper does come from trees.
Great article you have writen here
juliak712
Oct 13th, 2009
You see daddy. … All these years we were arguing about ‘money does not growing on trees’ … as you were kept saying. I am just hoping you are reading this article! Wohoo. …
chitragopi
Oct 13th, 2009
Strange. I can even say the tree grows on money.
sweetie1
Oct 13th, 2009
wow that is gr8 one..dont let anyone know here or everyone would rush to the tree..haha
Eric Goode
Oct 13th, 2009
Great article! Amazing photos!
Rana Sinha
Oct 13th, 2009
Fascinating! Learnt something new again today.
Wonder if they have similar money on trees customs in Scotland!
Crystalis DeCavalier
Oct 13th, 2009
The article was quite well written. Thank you for sharing it with us!
I also found the pictures so lovely. It’s quite interesting to see how they do indeed end up taking on the look of scales.
Marie Antoinette
Oct 13th, 2009
This is amazing. Excellent article.
Zunairah
Oct 13th, 2009
great and amusing info…
thestickman
Oct 13th, 2009
What the hell?!
This is really bizarre. Gee.. -I wonder if there are any really rare, valuable coins embedded in the bark?
Great topic!
PC Tec
Oct 13th, 2009
It is said in the Messianic era money well be plentiful.I guess it means growing money trees instead of marijuana trees.
Patrick Regoniel
Oct 14th, 2009
Nice read. First time to hear such stories. Thanks!
sametti95
Oct 14th, 2009
Thats unique. GREAT!
Teves
Oct 14th, 2009
Thats imposible. Nice one.
lowsteven
Oct 14th, 2009
WOW! nices pics
angelbaby2good07
Oct 14th, 2009
very informative, I enjoyed this information
Linziex18
Oct 14th, 2009
Wow, that ws great!!!!!!:)
sweet love
Oct 14th, 2009
amazing!!! ^_^
tracysmith159
Oct 14th, 2009
What amazing pictures. Now I know what to do with my pennies.
Juliet Christie Murray
Oct 14th, 2009
This is really beautiful I like the thought behind this practice nice and interesting research thumbs up.
EmilyLambert
Oct 14th, 2009
I really enjoyed this article. I love the topic, the way it was written, the images, the humor. It was great.
Yusuf6899
Oct 14th, 2009
That article was interesting and some what amazing!!!
mxpower
Oct 15th, 2009
Wow very interesting and unique great read. Well you’ve proved the theory wrong money can grow on tree’s lol.
Fakhri52
Oct 15th, 2009
“Wow……………! It’s Really Amazing”
jessymai
Oct 15th, 2009
A very interesting read which left me with more questions than answers. Pictures were fascinating too.
dawngordon
Oct 15th, 2009
Good posting, funny thing is money may not grow on trees, but is made by them right?
Annettenasser
Oct 16th, 2009
Wow,,, that is the strangiest thing i ever seen,, we cannot say that money grows in the trees how ever,, it is interesting view to represent the saying in order to wake up some people of its concern,,
DA Cournean
Nov 17th, 2009
Amazing!
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