Newburgh Priory Estate trees ready to break more records

Following a superb festive season preparations for Christmas 2024 are now in full swing at the historic Newburgh Priory Estate, near York with 120 trees sold already.

Based on the outskirts of the picturesque village of Coxwold, is one of the leading Christmas tree growers and retailers in the north of England.

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Stephen Wombwell and his family took ownership of the Estate when his father George retired in 2010 and began growing Christmas trees two years later.

This year 35,000 trees have been harvested across 120 acres and are ready to be sold, just below the tomb containing the headless torso of Oliver Cromwell, which lies in the Newburgh Priory Estate attics.

Stephen said: “There’s a great irony involved here, as Cromwell tried to ban Christmas.

“On a more serious note, this year, as in previous years, we are placing great emphasis on sustainability and making sure that we are doing everything we can to minimise damage to our precious planet.

“When my business partner William Standeven and myself started growing Christmas trees 12 years ago, we had one very simple ethos: to sustainably provide our customers, whether they are retail or wholesale, with the freshest and best quality Christmas trees that we could.

“Over the years tastes and the markets have changed but the ethos remains the same. We are proud of our Christmas trees and through the hard work and skill of our professional team we offer a friendly and efficient service to all our customers.

“All the Christmas trees are grown on the estate within a mile of Newburgh Priory.

"We have invested in new state-of-the-art technology, in the form of machinery which cuts, packs and stacks the trees on-site in the fields to ensure a swifter, more sustainable and more efficient operation.

“Meanwhile our wholesale business has developed through the co-operative selling group Infinity Christmas Trees, which ensures that no producer’s trees have to travel more than 50 miles, reducing their carbon footprint.”

Will Standeven and Stephen Wombwell with Christmas trees from Newburgh (Image: Supplied) Sustainability is a key objective for The British Christmas Tree Growers Association (BCTGA), who believe there will be a higher demand for locally grown trees this year, not just because of the problem of importing trees from Europe, but because more and more people are putting sustainability at the fore of their spending so will inevitably support British trees grown close to their homes.

A spokesman from BCTGA said: “Buy a tree from our member growers and you will be supporting a local business, many of which are independent family-run enterprises further supporting local employment and the wider economy.”

Stephen said: "Nordmann fir trees make up 85 per cent of our crop but we also grow a wide range of other trees including Fraser firs, Norway spruce, Serbian spruce and Blue spruce, together with a range of potted trees.

“Throughout the Christmas period, we cut-to-order to ensure that your tree will be fresh and in perfect shape for the whole of Christmas."

Newburgh Christmas Retail Site will open from today (November 23) until Christmas Eve from 10am - 4pm and weekends from 10am – 6pm.

Newburgh Priory in the snow (Image: Supplied)