Over 400 years of Huguenot heritage have been commemorated this week with the presentation of a mulberry tree to the Spitalfields community where many Huguenots were baptised, married and buried.

The Bishop of London, Patron of the Huguenots of Spitalfields, presented the tree in the garden of Christ Church in Spitalfields, joined by Charlie de Wet, chair of the Hugeunots of Spitalfields, the Reverend Andy Rider, Rector of Christ Church, and David Shreeve, Director of The Conservation Foundation.

October 1685 saw the start of a mass emigration which resulted in some 50,000 French Protestants arriving in London, after Louis XlV revoked the Edict of Nantes, which had allowed Protestants to practise their faith in peace.  Today one in six of this country’s population can trace an ancestor amongst these early refugees whose skills transformed this country.

The Mulberry tree is an historic reminder because of its association with the Huguenots’ silk industry, which they brought to Spitalfields and other parts of the country.  The tree was donated by The Conservation Foundation’s Morus Londinium project which is currently recording and researching London’s mulberry trees with the support of the Heritage Lottery Fund. It is the first of 100 “King James I” mulberry saplings, propagated from a tree that once stood in Chelsea Physic Garden, which will be distributed to London schools, groups and heritage sites as part of the project.

Following the presentation, guests were invited to Christ Church Crypt for refreshments including Tottenham Cakes cooked with a unique recipe including mulberry fruit.

To find out more about Huguenot heritage in Spitalfields, visit www.huguenotsofspitalfields.org

You can find out more about the Conservation Foundation’s Morus Londinium project at  www.moruslondinium.org