These are the ancient trees in the South East of England I have personally visited. Media of my visits can be found on my social media pages.
📍Ankerwycke Yew, Staines TW19 5AD.
A legendary ancient yew tree in Berkshire said to be at least 1400 years old potentially 2500 years old. This magnificent tree has a measured girth of eight meters and is a focal point for reflection of nature and history. Standing through medieval religious life with traditions that the tree stood witness to the sealing of The Magna Carta in 1215 and where Henry VIII is said to have courted Anne Boleyn in 1530. The yew was part of St Marys Priory dedicated in 1086 but the first church on site was probable built around 700 AD. The ruins and stunning tree are open to the public and a short walk from a small carpark.
📍The Druid Oak, Burham Beeches, Slough SL2 3TE.
A magnificent ancient oak standing for 800 years within Burnham Beeches Nature Reserve. Living through the reins of 36 kings and queens and centuries of environmental challenges. As a pollard oak it provides crucial habitats for a variety of rare insects, fungi, bats and birds. Named Druid due to its age and imposing presence linking to ancient sacred beliefs about oak trees. Measuring a girth of 8.89m and a height of 9m its an absolutely stunning example of one of the UK ancient oaks. Burnham Beeches hold hundreds of veteran trees to walk through and media of my walk and the trees are available on my social media pages.
📍The Ancient Yew at Crowhurst, East Sussex.
Standing since at least 1066 making it more than 1300 years old and the largest and oldest of three stunning yews on site. The other two yews are around 600 years old. This yew is female and recorded as a champion tree of Sussex measuring a 9.08m girth and 12 meters tall.
Sometime confused with The Surrey Crowhurst Yew, also in a churchyard called St Georges Church but much older and sponsoring a wooden door.
📍Foots Cray Ancient Sweet Chestnut Tree, Sidcup DA14 5BP.
One of the oldest documented trees in the district reputed to be around 500 years old. Standing on the edge of the North Cray Woods once the estate of two manor houses. Badly damaged and a split truck the tree continues living, growing and supporting important wildlife.
📍The Great Oak, Panshanger Park, SG14 2NA
The Panshanger Great Oak is said to have been planted by Queen Elizabet I and be around 450-500 years old. Considered one of the tallest and widest oaks in Britain with a girth measuring 7.8 meters and still growing half an inch a year. A Pedunculate maiden oak meaning it has grown naturally without being pollard or coppiced. You can view the tree along with many other veteran trees on the oak trail opened in 2015. The Great Oak is one of fifty symbolic trees created for Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee. You can find them all at https://queensgreencanopy.org/
📍The Harry Potter Tree, Blenheim Palace.
Featured in the 2007 film Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix is the Cedar of Lebanon tree estimated to have been planted in 1963-1774 making it around 300 years old and an ancient tree for its species. It stands in a park designed in the 18th century, so the tree itself is part of the original planting schemes, unfortunately, becoming a risk of collapse so underwent stabilisation in 2016.
📍Majesty, Fredville Park, Dover
A magnificent ancient maiden oak known as Majesty, the largest surviving one in the UK with a 12.6 meter girth. The tree has been a local landmark for centuries and was considered ancient in 1554. Once part of Fredville Park, housing a multitude of ancient trees. Majesty made the Guinness Book of Records and celebrated in conservation records and tree inventories as a national treasure of natural heritage.
📍The Crowhurst Yew, Lingfield RH7 6LR
This is one of Britain’s oldest living trees estimated to be 4000 years old, famous for its immense girth, hollow trunk and remarkable history. This spectacular tree has served as a summer house, parish council meeting room and a dwelling for the homeless. In 1820 villagers hollowed out the bole of the tree to added a door and discovered a civil war cannonball imbedded in the trunk. This male yew considered a living link to prehistoric Britain predating the church and even the Domesday Book. Yews are often associated with churchyards, eternity, and resilience and the Crowhurst Yew embodies all of these
📍The Ancient Ash Tree, Godstone
A living Vartan Ash tree located in publicly accessible woodland near Godstone. Naturally grown, meaning its never been coppiced or pollarded, with a girth measuring 3.15 meters. Although its not thousands of years old, veteran ash trees are ecologically significant, providing habitats for fungi, insects, and birds. The Godstone ash is part of this wider network of notable specimens celebrated in Surrey. Ash trees are under threat from Ash dieback disease so veteran specimens like this are especially important to monitor and protect.
