Master Oak: The Oldest Tree in Middlesex

The Master Oak.

No one knows how old this ancient oak is, but it is believed to have been an acorn during the time of King Henry VIII (1491-1597).

During his reign many oaks were felled for the building of his warships, as timber for barns, barrels, furniture and for firewood. Oak smoke was also used to cure food as a way to preserve it.

It was certainly growing well in the late 17th century, when the Poet Laureate, John Dryden, rewrote a verse from Chaucer's 'Canterbury Tales':

"The monarch oak, the patriarch of the trees,

Shoots rising up, and spreads by slow degrees.

Three centuries he grows, and three he stays

Supreme in state; and in three more decays."

The Master has a shape that shows that it probably had its branches and top removed to encourage growth. The pollarded wood was probably used for fuel.

One theory suggests that the shape of The Master is due to several buried acorns joined to form this one great tree.

The English Oak (Quercus robor) has long been a symbol of English culture and vitality. 

A mature oak provides an essential wildlife habitat by supporting hundreds of species, such as bats, birds, fungi and insects.

Although Middlesex ceased to be in 1965, The Master Oak still stands proud in Bentley Priory Nature Reserve, close to Summerhouse Lake.

Bentley Priory is first mentioned in William the Conqueror's Domesday Book, 1085, and has remained an open space ever since, with the grasses, plants and trees allowed to carry on as they have over the centuries.