Major Oak: 1,200-year-old tree linked to Robin Hood has died
The legendary 1,200-year-old Major Oak in Sherwood Forest, made famous by Robin Hood, has died.
The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) confirmed on Thursday that the ancient oak tree has not produced leaves this spring.
For two centuries, visitors to Nottingham marveled at the gnarled limbs and sprawling dome, compacting the soil and inadvertently preventing rain from reaching its roots.
Although past rumors that the tree was gone turned out to be false, the conservation group said now the iconic landmark is truly lost.
“It is heartbreaking for everyone that the tree has failed to produce leaves this year,” the RSPB’s Hollie Drake said in a statement announcing the death.
The tree is said to house legendary 13th-century bandit Robin Hood, who stole from the rich and gave to the poor, and took refuge in the woods when pursued by the sheriff of Nottingham.
It got its name after it was mentioned in a book on oaks by Major Hayman Rooke in 1790, which led to the first wave of admirers flocking to the forest.
It’s impossible to say what killed the tree, but the footprints of millions of people contributed to its fall, along with the intervention of supporting its massive limbs using cables and poles.
Climate change, which has led to heat waves and droughts, has also been blamed.
Arborists found that the root system was strangled and starving.
“Old trees such as the Major Oak are the ‘conservation white rhinos of the UK’, but their decline is much less visible,” said Ed Pyne of the Woodland Trust.
“Saving them is vital to the health of the world we live in, but many quietly disappear without the recognition or care of Major Oak.”
Besides its place in folklore, the forest is also known for its Sherwood oaks, which sailed Vice-Admiral Horatio Nelson’s Royal Navy ships in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, and St. It is known for the timbers on the roof of St. Paul’s Cathedral.
The Major Oak survived the sawing and has been protected by fencing since the 1970s.
“Major Oak will continue to stand at the heart of Sherwood as a natural monument for visitors to come and see, living on the legend of Robin Hood and supporting the forest’s ecosystem in death as well as in life,” Ms Drake said.
