Major Oak

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The Major Oak

Major Oak in December 2006

The Major Oak is a huge Oak tree near the village of Edwinstowe in the heart of Sherwood Forest, Nottinghamshire, England. According to local folklore, it was Robin Hood's headquarters, although the age of the tree disproves this myth.

It weighs an estimated 23 tons, has a waistline of 33 feet, and is about 800-1000 years old ^[1]. There are several theories concerning why it became so huge and oddly shaped:

The Major Oak may be several trees that fused together when saplings.
The tree was possibly pollarded, a system of tree management that enabled foresters to grow more than one crop of timber from a single tree causing the trunk to grow large and fat. However, there is only limited evidence to support this theory as none of the other trees in the surrounding area was pollarded.

It took its present name from Major Hayman Rooke's description of it in 1790.

Since the Victorian era its massive limbs have been partially supported by an elaborate system of scaffolding. In February 1998, a local company took cuttings from the Major Oak and began cultivating clones of the famous tree with the intention of sending saplings to be planted in major cities around the world.

The Major Oak was featured on the 2005 television programme Seven Natural Wonders as one of the wonders of the Midlands.

In 1998, a local Mansfield resident was cautioned by the Nottinghamshire Police for selling alleged Major Oak acorns (including a certificate of authenticity) to unsuspecting Americans via an Internet-based mail-order company^{[citation needed]}.

In June 2002, the Major Oak was listed as one of only fifty Great British Trees.

In June 2002 The Tree Council has designated The Major Oak one of fifty Great British Trees in recognition of its place in the national heritage.

On October 1, 2002, a news story broke about someone illegally selling acorns from the Major Oak on an Internet-based auction website^[2].

In 2003 in Dorset a plantation was started of 260 saplings grown from acorns of the Major Oak. The purpose was to provide a focal point 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^{[citation needed]}.