Plans to commemorate a fallen tree linked to writer Thomas Hardy have been announced.

The Hardy Tree in Old St Pancras Churchyard next to St Pancras Station came down in December. At the time, Camden Council said it was looking at a way to celebrate the fallen ash.

Three months later, these plans are now in place. The council confirmed that the trunk of the tree will remain in the graveyard, and that a new tree will be planted nearby.

Educational signage will also be added at the site explaining the connection to Victorian novelist and poet Thomas Hardy.

The tree was well-known for the ring of gravestones that surrounded its trunk.

It is said that they were stacked around the ash by Hardy, author of Tess of the D’Urbervilles, when he was a young architect’s assistant working on the original railway line into the station in the 1860s.

Cllr Adam Harrison, cabinet member for a sustainable Camden, said: “We want to recognise the importance of the much-loved Hardy Tree and we have been working together with the local community and the Thomas Hardy Society to bring forward plans to commemorate the tree and its unique story.

“The trunk of the tree will remain in St Pancras Gardens next to the mound, where it will continue to support biodiversity in the gardens and remain accessible to residents and visitors.

“Educational signage will be added to explain the connection to Thomas Hardy and how, in death, the tree supports local wildlife.

“We will also be planting a new tree nearby as part of next year’s tree planting programme.

“We are exploring if this can be a tree from Thomas Hardy’s cottage or a species of tree that is mentioned in Under the Greenwood Tree.

“We look forward to bringing together the local community and groups for a planting ceremony once a tree suitable for honouring the legacy of the site has been identified.”