Major Oak
{{Short description|Tree in Sherwood Forest, Nottinghamshire}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2022}}
{{Infobox tree
| name= Major Oak
| image= The Major Oak - geograph.org.uk - 1691865.jpg
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| image_caption= The Major Oak
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| species= English oak
| binomial= Quercus robur
| location= Sherwood Forest, Nottinghamshire
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The Major Oak is a large English oak (Quercus robur) near the village of Edwinstowe in the midst of Sherwood Forest, Nottinghamshire, England. According to local folklore, it was Robin Hood's shelter where he and his Merry Men slept. It weighs an estimated 23 tons, has a girth of 33 feet (10 metres), a canopy of 92 feet (28 metres), and is about 800–1,000 years old.{{cite book|last1=Biggs|first1=Paul|last2=Biggs|first2=Sandra|title=Best Tea Shop Walks in Nottinghamshire|date=1999|publisher=Sigma Leisure|location=Wilmslow|isbn=978-1-85058-6845|page=50|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=f1kGZkRPXNYC&pg=PA50|accessdate=29 October 2016}}{{cite web |title=The Major Oak |url=https://ati.woodlandtrust.org.uk/tree-search/tree/?treeid=1#/ |publisher=Woodland Trust |access-date=3 May 2025}} The Major Oak sits within a Site of Special Scientific Interest."Nottinghamshire's National Nature Reserve". naturalengland.org.uk. Archived from the original on 14 June 2018. Retrieved 12 April 2025
Etymology
Major Hayman Rooke, a soldier and antiquarian, describes the Major Oak in his book Description or Sketches of Remarkable Oakes in Welbeck Park in 1790 as "I think no one can behold this majestic ruin without pronouncing it to be of very from it antiquity, and might venture to say, that it cannot be much less than a thousand years old." It is believed that the Major Oak took the name of Major Hayman Rooke.{{cite web |last= Townsley |first= Richard |title= The man who made the Major Oak |url= https://visitsherwood.co.uk/celebrating-the-man-who-made-the-major-oak/ |date=16 February 2025 |access-date=15 May 2025}}{{cite web |title=Sherwood Forest Country Park |date=7 August 2016 |url=https://www.nottinghamshire.gov.uk/culture-leisure/country-parks/sherwood-forest/history-of-sherwood-forest-robin-hood-and-major-oak |access-date=8 July 2020}}{{Cite web|last=Stafford|first=Fiona|date=28 October 2016|title=The story of Major Oak, one of Britain's most awe-inspiring trees|url=https://www.ft.com/content/8c90540c-96ae-11e6-a1dc-bdf38d484582 |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221210/https://www.ft.com/content/8c90540c-96ae-11e6-a1dc-bdf38d484582 |archive-date=10 December 2022 |url-access=subscription|url-status=live|access-date=15 May 2021|website=Financial Times|language=en-GB}} The Major Oak used to be named the Cockpen Tree, after the cockfighting that once took place beneath it.{{cite book |last=Hight |first=Julian |year=2011 |title=Britain's Tree Story: the history and legends of Britain's ancient trees |publisher=National Trust Books |page=32 |isbn=978-1907-8922-02}}
History
The Major Oak was identified by Major Hayman Rooke in 1790.{{Stafford, Fiona (28 October 2016). "The story of Major Oak, one of Britain's most awe-inspiring trees". Financial Times. Archived from the original on 10 December 2022. Retrieved 15 May 2025
Support chains were first fitted to the tree in 1908, and its massive limbs have been partially supported by an elaborate system of scaffolding since the 1970s.{{Cite web|title=The Major Oak – Sherwood Forest|date=22 January 2019 |url=https://www.visitsherwood.co.uk/things-to-do/the-major-oak/|access-date=15 May 2021}} In 1974, fences were installed around the tree to protect it from root damage, since the number of visitors to the tree was compacting the soil around it.{{Cite journal|last=The Woodland Trust|date=Summer 2019|title=The Major Oak|url=https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/media/1691/wood-wise-iconic-oak.pdf|journal=Wood Wise|pages=6}}
The formation sign of the 46th Infantry Division of the British Army in the Second World War was the Major Oak.Cite Web: https://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/30071761|badge, formation, 46th (North Midland and West Riding) Infantry Division|Imperial War Museum| retrieved on 11 April 2025 Among the units of the division were battalions of the Sherwood Foresters regiment.
In a 2002 survey, it was voted "Britain's favourite tree".{{cite web|date=7 August 2016|title=Sherwood Forest Country Park: Nottinghamshire County Council|url=https://www.nottinghamshire.gov.uk/culture-leisure/country-parks/sherwood-forest/history-of-sherwood-forest-robin-hood-and-major-oak|publisher=Nottinghamshire.gov.uk|accessdate=8 July 2020}}
Also in 2002, a person illegally attempted to sell acorns claimed to be from the Major Oak on an internet-based auction website.{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/2289959.stm |title=Illegal acorns for sale on net |work=BBC News |date=1 October 2002 |accessdate=29 October 2016}}
In 2003, in Dorset a plantation was started of 260 saplings grown from acorns of the Major Oak. The purpose was to provide publicity for an internet-based study of the Major Oak, its history, photographic record, variation in size and leafing of the saplings, comparison of their DNA, and an eventual public amenity.{{cite web|url=http://www.eyemead.com/oakwood.htm |title=Planting a new Oak Wood in Dorset |publisher=Eyemead.com |date=16 April 2015 |accessdate=29 October 2016}}
The Major Oak was featured on the 2005 television programme Seven Natural Wonders as one of the wonders of the Midlands.Seven Man Made Wonders,Midlands - Sherwood Forest and the Major Oak”|BBC Homepage| 28 October 2014, Archived|retrieved on 3 April 2025
In 2014, it was voted 'England's Tree of the Year' by a public poll by the Woodland Trust, receiving 18% of the votes.{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-nottinghamshire-30052751 |title='Robin Hood' Major Oak wins Tree of the Year competition |work=BBC News |date=4 November 2014 |accessdate=29 October 2016}}
The threat to the Major Oak from fracking is the subject of a song by English musician Beans on Toast on his 2017 album Cushty.{{cite web |title=Beans on Toast – Major Oak |url=https://genius.com/Beans-on-toast-major-oak-lyrics |website=Genius.com |accessdate=31 August 2020 |language=en}}
In July 2020 the tree was reported as vandalised, with a three-foot section of bark fallen off.{{Cite web|url=https://uk.news.yahoo.com/vandals-damage-tree-sherwood-forest-robin-hood-180519281.html|title='Disgraceful' vandals damage 1,000-year-old tree in Sherwood Forest|website=uk.news.yahoo.com|date=22 July 2020 }}{{Cite news|date=22 July 2020|title='Robin Hood' oak: Sherwood Forest tree 'damaged by climbers'|language=en-GB|work=BBC News|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-nottinghamshire-53500510|access-date=15 May 2021}}
= The shape of the Major Oak =
It is unclear to whether the Major Oak is one tree or several tree saplings that have been fused together, hence this may give reason to its shape.Cite Web: https://visitsherwood.co.uk/explore-the-forest/the-major-oak/#:~:text=Although%20it's%20undeniably%20big%2C%20it's,Major%20Oak%20in%20his%20honour|The Major Oak Probably the most famous resident of Sherwood Forest (after Robin Hood of course), the iconic Major Oak is an ancient giant that absolutely cannot be missed|Sherwood Forest|2018|retrieved on 12 April 2025
This enormous tree is commonly thought to be the UK's second-largest oak tree, only truly surpassed by the Majesty Oak in Fredville Park, in the village of Nonington, near Dover, Kent.{{cite web|url=https://www.monumentaltrees.com/en/gbr/england/kent/960_fredvillepark/1720/|title=Pedunculate Oak 'Majesty' in Fredville Park, Nonington, England, United Kingdom|publisher=Monumental trees|accessdate=2023-10-06}}
Gallery
File:Book Illustration of The Major Oak.jpg|Book illustration of the Major Oak in 1879
Image:Major Oak (9492).jpg|The Major Oak with the support system in place
Image:Major Oak in Sherwood Forest in 2006.jpg|The Major Oak in December 2006
File:The Major Oak, January 2013 - geograph.org.uk - 3290581.jpg|The Major Oak, 2013
See also
References
{{reflist}}
External links
{{Commons category}}
- [http://www.majoroak.org.uk Major Oak and Sherwood Forest fan site]
- [http://www.eyemead.com/majoroak.htm Major Oak history page]
- [http://sharonhosegoodassociates.co.uk/sha-films/ 2018 Survey of Major Oak tree roots by radar]
{{Robin Hood|state=collapsed}}
Category:Individual trees in England
Category:Nottinghamshire folklore