In 1880 it was threatened with destruction as part of planned housing development, so the Corporation purchased it as an area of recreation of the residents of London. Now they employ six keepers, a full time ecologist and several regular volunteers (I was one once when we lived near Maidenhead) who help maintain these fantastic woodlands and deal with the 500,000 visitors to the site each year.
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One of the things the beeches are famous for is what the poet Thomas Gray described as 'reverend vegetables' - the ancient beech and oak pollards.
These pollards were formed when the beeches were common land by the commoners who cut the trees at head height to gather wood and stop their grazing animals from eating the regrowing shoots (as would happened if the trees had been coppiced). Such pollarding has prolonged the life of the trees, some are now several hundred years old:
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Now the commoners have gone, it is responsibility of the keepers to maintain these impressive trees as they form an important and unique habitat for birds, bats, fungus and insects and maintain it's reputation as national nature reserve and an internationally important site for wildlife.
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Whilst some of the trees have maintained their girth, some have practically rotted away, this tree, named the ballerina, now stands on a very thin trunk, most of it has now rotted away and eventually the tree will collapse. Any pollards that do fall are left in-situ as dead the dead wood helps support the internationally rare fungus and insects that are found at the site.
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Another thing Burnham Beeches is famous for is as a film location. It is where Robin Hood, Prince of Thieves set up camp; Harry Potter met the Thestrals and apparently it's where the Spice Girls met space aliens....
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