Chilworth Chicken Chopped Down

[Chris125]

A sad end to Jessie's Seat, apparently no longer maintained due to access issues and now accidentally destroyed.

Guildford Dragon NEWS

Guildford News

guildford-dragon.com

Network Rail mistakenly fells topiary in Surrey during repairs

Network Rail apologised and says removing the memorial was a "genuine mistake".

www.bbc.co.uk

We’re incredibly sorry for the accidental removal of the Chilworth Chicken memorial during recent work on the North Downs Line. It was a genuine mistake, and we take full responsibility.

“The memorial, a tribute to railway guard Henry Wicks who died in a crash over 130 years ago, had lost its shape and was mistaken for a shrub. It was removed for safety reasons, as it was blocking signs that remind train drivers to sound their horn near crossings.

“We’re working closely with our contractor, Coombes, to replant the memorial and are speaking with local stakeholders to choose a safer, more visible location.

 

[DelW]

A sad end to Jessie's Seat, apparently no longer maintained due to access issues and now accidentally destroyed.

Guildford Dragon NEWS

Guildford News

guildford-dragon.com

Network Rail mistakenly fells topiary in Surrey during repairs

Network Rail apologised and says removing the memorial was a "genuine mistake".

www.bbc.co.uk

There was some discussion of this in the "... dire day on the North Downs" thread in the Allocations forums (admittedly not the most obvious location ):

Yet Another Dire Day On The North Downs Line

So, the North Downs Line closure has been in force for a week now, with no further comment here - can we assume that the arrangements are running smoothly? I was only at work for two days this week (Mon + Tue) it went well apart from Monday moving the driver had been given the incorrect route...

www.railforums.co.uk

Post 94 et seq are relevant.

 

[Chris125]

There was some discussion of this in the "... dire day on the North Downs" thread in the Allocations forums (admittedly not the most obvious location ):

Yet Another Dire Day On The North Downs Line

So, the North Downs Line closure has been in force for a week now, with no further comment here - can we assume that the arrangements are running smoothly? I was only at work for two days this week (Mon + Tue) it went well apart from Monday moving the driver had been given the incorrect route...

www.railforums.co.uk

Post 94 et seq are relevant.

I did look but didn't find anything, thanks.

 

[Deepgreen]

BBC News has another item on this today. I complained to them previously as they were reporting that it had been chopped down in error AND that it had been removed for safety reasons - very obviously both can't be true! The amended story today has a headline saying that "Experts" are saddened, but these "experts" are just those now trying to come up with a replacement memorial - hardly experts! BBC News's quality decline is inexorable.

What is also saddening is the level of intelligence of chainsaw-wielders who came across a blindingly obvious topiary and just chopped it down anyway without consultation. Watch out any station garden-tenders!

Experts 'saddened' over felling of Jessie's Seat in Surrey

A topiary known as Jessie's Seat, created in memory of Henry Wicks, is accidentally felled.

www.bbc.co.uk

Experts 'saddened' over felling of topiary tribute​

Image source,BBC / Paul Robinson
Image caption,
Network Rail has apologised for accidentally felling Jessie's Seat, also known as the Chilworth Chicken, during rail repairs
ByHsin-Yi Lo
South East

• • Published
    1 October 2025, 11:44 BST

Updated 2 hours ago
Plans are being made to replace an "historic" topiary in memory of a railway guard who died in a crash.
Jessie's Seat, also known as the Chilworth Chicken, was regarded as a "significant historic feature", situated between Chilworth and Gomshall in Surrey.
A Surrey Hills National Landscape spokesperson said they were "saddened" by the loss of Jessie's Seat, which was created in memory of Henry Wicks who was killed near the site in 1892.
Network Rail apologised after the topiary was accidentally cut down during repair work.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 1 Oct 2025 ==

There was some discussion of this in the "... dire day on the North Downs" thread in the Allocations forums (admittedly not the most obvious location ):

Yet Another Dire Day On The North Downs Line

So, the North Downs Line closure has been in force for a week now, with no further comment here - can we assume that the arrangements are running smoothly? I was only at work for two days this week (Mon + Tue) it went well apart from Monday moving the driver had been given the incorrect route...

www.railforums.co.uk

Post 94 et seq are relevant.

Perhaps not but it was a dire day on the line!

 

[pdeaves]

intelligence of chainsaw-wielders who came across a blindingly obvious topiary

Well, the original article said the topiary had "lost its shape and was mistaken for a shrub". If it hadn't been maintained for I don't know how long, it would likely not look like topiary any more. I have some sympathy with the chainsaw-wielders. I do think the memorial's maintenance should have been better, but that's not the fault of the people on the ground at the critical time.

 

[John R]

Saw this topiary yesterday on a walk in the Mendips. Thought it might give some ideas for a replacement for the chicken. Wonder what it might be called?

 

[Deepgreen]

Well, the original article said the topiary had "lost its shape and was mistaken for a shrub". If it hadn't been maintained for I don't know how long, it would likely not look like topiary any more. I have some sympathy with the chainsaw-wielders. I do think the memorial's maintenance should have been better, but that's not the fault of the people on the ground at the critical time.

I saw it quite recently and it wasn't a crisp shape, that's for sure, but it was still very obviously not just a shrub. Of course the real fault lies with the omission by the work planners, but even so, surely it is quite obvious that a large, dense yew wouldn't just be growing by the line in that situation by accident. I can't imagine the operatives will have come across anything like it before, so a quick check would have been the obvious course of action.

The topiary's maintenance had previously been by local volunteers, but they had been denied access to the railway of late, hence the decline in quality (but not such a rapid decline as when the professionals arrived!).

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 1 Oct 2025 ==

Saw this topiary yesterday on a walk in the Mendips. Thought it might give some ideas for a replacement for the chicken. Wonder what it might be called?

View attachment 189457

Wow; so the Chilworth incident wasn't the only cock-up...deletion fully expected (and deserved!).

 

[Elecman]

Saw this topiary yesterday on a walk in the Mendips. Thought it might give some ideas for a replacement for the chicken. Wonder what it might be called?

View attachment 189457

House of Ill repute