Oxfordshire
Radley Park
Radley Park is the site of St Peter's College, Radley, also known as Radley College, the private school. Dating back to Elizabethan times, the park has a few old oaks, the largest of which is known as The Radley Oak or more commonly College Oak.
The Radley Oak / College Oak
Species: Quercus robur (Pedunculate Oak)
Estimated Age: 400 to 700 years, possibly more
Form: Maiden - with a curious recumbent branch of considerable girth
Girth at 1.5m: 9.4m (measured in 2015)
Estimated Year of Birth: this is a curious tree, considered by some to be called a 'Wolf Tree' meaning it grows much faster than might otherwise be indicated by its sizeable girth. Likely estimates of it's age range from 400 to 700 years, but it is an outside possibility potentially as far back as pre Battle of Hastings, c. 1064.
Reigning Monarch at the time: Edward the Confessor (possibly) but more likely sometime around Henry VIII.
Story: this is the first tree we gathered acorns from, on 19th September 2015. Benedict, our founder knew this tree well, having been a pupil at Radley College, between 1986 and 1991. We all used to run under the recumbent branch as part of the School Cross Country races.
Sizes available (and approximate prices):
40-100cm, 4 Litre (4L) pots: £51 to £71 (4 available)
75-175cm, 7L: £101 to £201 (79 available)
150-250cm, 15L: £181 to £281 (18 available)
200-250cm, 20L: £251 (1 available)
Oakling ages: 5 to 10 years old (seed gathered in 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 & 2020).
ID codes: BP 1552, 1553, 1570, 1587, 1598, 1625, 1680.
The Little Radley Oak
Species: Quercus robur (Pedunculate Oak)
Estimated Age: 596 years
Form: Maiden - a lovely sturdy thing.
Girth at 1.5m: 7.25m (measured in 2016)
Estimated Year of Birth: 1431
Reigning Monarch at the time: King Henry VI
Story: the Little Radley Oak is the baby sister of The Radley Oak, and they are within earshot of each other. A splendid tree in its own right, keeping guard of the northern end of the second green on the golf course!
Sizes available:
150-250cm, 15L: £251 (1 available)
200-250cm, 20L: £271 (1 available)
Oakling ages: 6 or 7 years old (2018 and 2019 seed)
ID codes: BP 1599, 1626.