Kent
Lullingstone Park
Lullingstone Park has a bewilderingly magnificent array of veteran and ancient oak, beech and hornbeam trees, including the giant sessile oak tree shown below, which we have suggested a name as "The King of Lullingstone". Now found as part of a golf course, the site has long been known for its special pollards, as per the reference below.
“Ancient pollards of Lullingstone Park, Kent” by P. T. Harding (1986, Transactions of the Kent Field Club 9:129–142)
Samuel Palmer: Oak Trees, Lullingstone Park, 1828
The King of Lullingstone
Species: Quercus petraea (Sessile Oak)
Estimated Age (in 2025): 1,236 years - this is probably quite an overestimate of the age, which has been derived from some ageing models used by others. In all likelihood it is c. 900 to 1,000 years old, and chances are ... we'll never know.
Form: maiden.
Girth at 1.5m: 10.63m (measured in October 2022)
Estimated Year of Birth: 789 (but perhaps as late as 1125).
Reigning Monarch at the time (in 789 AD): King Offa.
Story: whilst gathering acorns from under this giant tree in 2022, some players were approaching the nearby 16th green on the golf course, and proceeded to ask Benedict: "what are you doing down there, looking for magic mushrooms?".
Approximate sizes available (get in touch for prices):
10-40cm tall, 2 Litre pots (29 available) - these oaklings are rather diminutive, but in some cases are also quite sturdy.
Oakling ages: 3-year-olds (seed gathered in 2022).
ID code: BP 1802.