The Love Lock Tree in the grounds of Palace House at Beaulieu is to be opened for couples to add their own padlocks from Valentine’s Day.
The steel and copper bonsai tree sculpture in the Victorian flower garden was commissioned by Jonathan Montagu and Nathalie Montagu Daoust as a symbol of their love for each other. All of the guests at their wedding in 2014 were given a padlock engraved with their name and a copper leaf to attach to the tree, interlocked with that of their partners as a reminder of the bond made in the marriage ceremony. Guests then ceremonially threw the keys to their locks into the Beaulieu River.
Jonathan and Nathalie have now decided that they would like to open up their tree sculpture for couples visiting the Beaulieu attraction, to also make it a special place for them.
Nathalie said: “We loved the idea of having our own Love Lock Tree at Beaulieu and would like it to become a special place for other couples too.
“Tree sculptures that we have seen elsewhere look so much happier once they have been filled up with padlocks in all colours of the rainbow. So we decided that Valentine’s Day would be a good time to mark the opening of our Love Lock Tree to other couples.”
Couples who would like to help fill the tree with love, can buy padlocks from the Beaulieu attraction gift shop or bring their own engraved traditional square padlocks.
