Felled tree transformed into prayer sculpture

A tree dating back to the 1850's, cut down to protect a church, has been given a new lease of life as a prayer sculpture.

The town council left the trunk of the cedar tree at North Petherton Cemetery near Bridgwater, Somerset, after felling the rest of it on "safety grounds" after storms brought down another tree last year.

Bridgwater-based tree carver Tim Pearn created the sculpture of two hands pressed together and said: "I think it's really nice that we've been able to reinvent a tree that otherwise would have been cut down.

"Members of the public kept coming up saying how beautiful it was. I've found it quite overwhelming."

North Petherton Town Council said it was forced into taking action after a similarly sized tree damaged power lines in the cemetery.

A council spokesperson said: "In September 2025, the town council reluctantly agreed that a cedar tree in the cemetery should be felled on safety grounds.

"It was agreed that approximately 20m of the trunk would be left, and the idea of the stump having a wood carving would be explored.

"Having considered a number of suggestions, councillors chose the hands pressed together, recognising that it is generally understood as a gesture of reverence, respect and greeting."

Pearn said the sculpture is now his "favourite" work, as it is in the open for "everyone to see".

"The sculpture is called a prayer to those past and previous," he said.

"They [the council] were worried about the tree falling into the church, but didn't want to get rid of the whole tree, so left the bottom of the trunk for something like this.

"There was a planning stage of 5-6 months, figuring out what carving, especially for the longevity.

"To create the sculpture, it took me five days, from when I first picked up the chainsaw, to the final sanding and oiling. I'm really proud of it."

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