The business of Ernest Doe & Sons started on 24th June 1898 on what is now known as Doe’s Corner. There has always been a tree there as long as anyone can remember. The first being an elm and the second a cedrus atlantica gluaca cedar. Having lost the cedar tree, due to storm damage, it was important to the family to mark this special place with a suitable replacement.
Jon Rose, a Suffolk based nurseryman and owner of Botanica Nursery & Arboretum helped in the selection of the Evergreen Oak and transported it from Campsea Ashe to its new location where it will grow and flourish.
Third and fourth generations of the Doe family, Daphne Chandler and Colin Doe, formally planted the oak tree outside the head office, just off Maldon Road. Daphne is the granddaughter of the founder, Ernest Doe, and sister of our late Chairman, Alan Ernest Doe. Daphne also worked for the business and lived at Hill View, the house adjoining the main site, for many years. Alan’s son Colin is our present Chairman and, together with his son Angus, runs the Ernest Doe & Sons business.
They were supported by family and staff members as they planted the tree, followed by Colin reading some emotional words as to why it was so special to them. Ernest Doe (known to his friends as Ernie Doe), Colin’s grandfather and Daphne’s father, had his ashes buried in a wooden box underneath the previous cedar tree, until his wife Blanche passed away. He was then moved to join Blanche at All Saints Churchyard in Ulting.
In recognition of the Queen’s Canopy Jubilee project, the company planted 130 trees earlier this year and will be planting 3 acres of woodland in early January. As a company, we are constantly monitoring our carbon footprint and taking steps to reduce it on an ongoing basis.
