Doddington Hall donates Christmas Tree of Life to annual charity event 

The 400-year-old estate has gifted a Christmas tree to St Barnabas for almost two decades

Doddington Hall & Gardens has renewed its annual tradition of donating a Christmas tree to St Barnabas Hospice’s Light up a Life campaign, gifting an impressive Christmas tree for the 19th year in a row.

Grown organically on the Estate, and hand-selected by the St Barnabas team earlier in November, the ‘Tree of Life’ has now made the journey from Doddington Hall to uphill Lincoln, where it will stand outside The Lincoln Hotel throughout the Christmas period.

St Barnabas is inviting people to dedicate a light on the tree in memory of their loved ones, including those who have been cared for by the Hospice over the years.

The ‘Tree of Life’ will be the focal point for this year’s Torchlight Procession, which takes place on November 26th.

Claire Birch, owner of Doddington Hall & Gardens, said:

“This is the 19th consecutive year that the Tree of Life has been sourced from Doddington Hall, a tradition that was started by my mother in the 1990s.

“We have been growing Christmas trees here in a natural woodland setting at Doddington Hall for over 60 years and we couldn’t be prouder that our Christmas tree plays such an important role in this special event.

“St Barnabas plays a vital role in the lives of many people in Lincolnshire. They do such a fantastic job of helping the community year round and Light up a Life is a truly special event during what can be a very difficult time of the year. It’s a privilege for us to see one of our trees play such an integral role for people who want to remember their loved ones over the Christmas period.”

St Barnabas will be hosting its Torchlight Procession as part of the Light up a Life campaign, where participants will walk through uphill Lincoln carrying torches in memory of their loved ones.

After the procession, staff at Lincoln Cathedral will officially turn on the new lights, illuminating the Cathedral in yellow and blue to honour St Barnabas and their contribution to the community.

Louise Cotton, events fundraiser at St Barnabas Hospice, said:

“On behalf of the Hospice, I’d like to say a huge thank you to three incredible businesses at the heart of the community for coming together in support of St Barnabas. We are extremely grateful to Doddington Hall & Gardens, The Lincoln Hotel and Lincoln Cathedral for helping to make this year’s Torchlight Procession one to remember.

“The Tree of Life is an integral part of both the Torchlight Procession and our overall Light up a Life campaign, as it brings the community together in remembering loved ones at such a difficult time of year. Doddington Hall & Gardens’ commitment to our annual Light up a Life campaign is truly inspiring, and Lincoln simply would not look the same at Christmas without them.”

As well as the ‘Tree of Life’, Doddington Hall and Gardens also supplies Christmas trees to local schools and businesses each year. This year, over 100 trees have been purchased and deliveries have started to schools and organisations across Lincolnshire.

Members of the public who wish to dedicate a light on the ‘Tree of Life’ can do so at www.stbarnabashospice.co.uk/lual

The Hospice is also asking those planning to come to the Torchlight Procession to register their attendance at www.stbarnabashospice.co.uk/torchlight19.

Christmas trees are available to buy from Doddington Hall from Saturday 23rd November. To find out more about Doddington Hall & Gardens, visit their website here. To order a Christmas tree for your school or business, please call 01522 812510 before Thursday 28th November.

Find out more about Christmas at Doddington.