Thank you keberoxu -- - not sure if Beech trees have separate sexes (I know some do eg Hollies, Hazels) - but I reckon if this living being produces nuts/offspring then 'she' is the correct term!

I have found the whole episode traumatic- from all the 'might have beens' if she had fallen onto the road or even on one of the vans/cars driving in and out of the garden at various points (postie etc!) - thanks goodness no person or pet (dog/cat/chickens) was killed / injured- - am hoping very much that the wild birds and red squirrels would have had sufficient time to escape.
It is a shame that various plants, bushes, fruit trees have been wrecked, specially those planted for a special reason (to mark the grave of a pet, or given as a gift, or souvenir of some special occasion) also there's the inconvenience of replacing a hen house and some chicken runs.
But the worst thing of all is seeing the jagged stump and the huge sad carcase of what was a truly magnificent being, perhaps even older that the house she quietly guarded during the years. I feel so helpless, there is nothing I can do.....
I will plant her seeds for future generations, but it is terrible looking at the empty space where this glorious Copper Beech once stood.