In her 1958 book “The Virgin of Aldermanbury”, Madeleine Henrey writes passionately about this little corner of the City, revealing it also to be a favourite spot for her father-in-law, who in the late 19th century was curate at nearby St Botolph’s Aldersgate. She wrote: “...in 1821 three churchwardens planted a sapling at the cost of sixpence where the medieval church had stood.” This is the only known historic reference to the planting date of the tree. Henrey does not note the source of this information, and there is no record in the churchwarden account book for that year.St Peter Westcheap churchwarden accounts 1775-1838: London Metropolitan Archives document P69/PET4/B/006/MS00645/004 However, Henrey's history of the original church and the adjacent shops appear accurately and faithfully researched. The City of London Corporation 2012 Tree Strategy document concurs with the planting date of 1821.i.e., "City of London Tree Strategy", City of London Tree Strategy Document 2012, p. 49. Even if this date is not 100% reliable, the tree is certainly older than 1850, the gross under-estimate alarmingly propagated in official City of London Corporation planning documents of 2017.i.e., "City of London Churchyards", City of London Planning Document 2017, p. 116, pdf p. 33. Maps of the late 18th and early 19th century show the churchyard as a blank space, including the 1819 edition of Richard Horwood's Plan of the Cities of London and Westminster. However, an 1842 revision depicts what appears to be a tree.
