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When Robert Somerville moved to Hertfordshire from Devon, he discovered an unexpected landscape rich with wildlife, particularly elm trees. Nestled within London's commuter belt, this wooded wilderness inspired Somerville, a lifelong woodworker, to revive the ancient tradition of hand-raising barns using locally sourced elm timber for material and the local community as labour. The story of the elm tree in the landscape is central to Barn Club. Its natural history and its historic importance in England, continental Europe and North America make for a fascinating story told by the author, a long-time admirer of this diverse and remarkable forest denizen. The decline of the elm, which began more than a century ago, was due to an imported fungal disease, and nearly spelled its doom.