This huge tree is officially classified as an Ancient Oak. Oaks have three notional ages during their expected lifetime of 900 – 1000 years. Examination by a dendrologist has confirmed that this tree is more than 550 years old. There are signs that it is beginning a very slow decline towards becoming one of those misshapen gnarled oak stumps that date from Norman times.

When this tree was an acorn, the Plantagenet Edward IV was on the throne as the Wars of the Roses trundled to an end with the Yorkists as rulers. America had not yet been discovered. Columbus was a teenager. Leonardo was in his 20s. Michelangelo was a child. Botticelli was honing his precocious skills. Caxton was setting up his first press.

Highly sophisticated methods of dating trees have overtaken the counting of rings, with very specific criteria that go far beyond girth measurement. Behind this tree you can see another oak. It was badly damaged in an autumn storm before it had shed its leaves. At around 250 years old, it is designated a Veteran Oak. Captain Cook was the vogue explorer at that time.