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# Clone of Samuel Johnson’s favourite willow tree planted during ceremony in Lichfield
- URL: https://lichfieldlive.co.uk/clone-of-samuel-johnsons-favourite-willow-tree-planted-during-ceremony-in-lichfield/
- Published: 2021-11-02T16:14:07.000Z
- Updated: 2021-11-02T16:14:18.000Z
- Description: A clone of a willow tree loved by Samuel Johnson has been planted during a ceremony in Lichfield.
- Author: Lichfield Live
- Tags: Heritage, #wp, #wp-post, #Import 2026-07-22 19:15, News

A clone of a willow tree loved by Samuel Johnson has been planted during a ceremony in Lichfield.

![The Johnson's Willow tree planting ceremony](https://storage.ghost.io/c/e3/90/e390c3da-0866-4d2a-8ffe-ca4999d7ce1c/content/images/lichfieldlive-co-uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/johnsons-willow-tree-planting-ceremony.jpg)

The Johnson’s Willow tree planting ceremony

It has been grown from a cutting taken from the fourth Johnson’s Willow, which was felled in October due to decay.

Lichfield District Council and the Johnson Society held a ceremony to make the planting of the new version of the tree at Stowe Pool today (2nd November).

John Winterton, heritage officer of the Johnson Society, said:

> “The Johnson Society is grateful to Lichfield District Council for its hard work and collaboration on perpetuating Johnson’s Willow.  
>  
> “Today’s replanting means that this unique link with Samuel Johnson and his era will live on.”

![John Winterton, Phil Jones and Paul Niven planting Johnson's Willow](https://storage.ghost.io/c/e3/90/e390c3da-0866-4d2a-8ffe-ca4999d7ce1c/content/images/lichfieldlive-co-uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/john-winterton-phil-jones-and-paul-niven.jpg)

John Winterton, Phil Jones and Paul Niven planting Johnson’s Willow

The original tree, thought to date back to around 1700, was also mentioned by Lichfield poet Anne Seward and American poet Elizabeth Graeme Fergusson in their writings.

Cllr Iain Eadie, cabinet member responsible for parks, said:

> “I am very proud we have been a part of this historic tree planting.  
>  
> “Well done to Paul Niven, our community gardener, who took the cutting and has been tending it for almost three years so that Johnson’s Willow can be enjoyed at Stowe Pool for years to come.”  
>  
> Cllr Iain Eadie, Lichfield District Council

The ceremony also featured a number of poetry readings, including the first-time reading of the poem *Resurgam – I shall rise again: Johnson’s Willow* by Sarah Dale, who won the Johnson Society’s competition to write a poem to celebrate the planting of the historic tree.