Oxfordshire
Kirtlington Park
Secluded in a lyrical Capability Brown parkland, the house is one of Britain’s finest examples of Palladian architecture, a quintessential English gem.
https://kirtlingtonpark.co.uk/
The Great Ciid Oak
Species: Quercus robur (Pedunculate Oak)
Estimated Age: 524 years
Form: Maiden - showing amazingly clear retrenchment of the former high branching and growth of a lower canopy
Girth at 1.5m: 6.93m (measured in 2022)
Estimated Year of Birth: 1501
Reigning Monarch at the time: King Henry VII (Tudor)
Story: in 2022 our founder Benedict conducted an intensive beetle study of this veteran tree, over several months, finding a plethora of different species including a saproxylic (deadwood) species of interest. An ecological paper was recently published about it in the British Journal of Entomology and Natural History, with Dr Glenda Orledge of the University of Bath.
Sizes available: 40-100cm, 2 Litre pots (many available).
Oakling ages: 3 years old (2022 seed)
ID codes: BP 1729; 1730; 1732; 1746; 1749; 1763; 1770; 1803; 1818
The Kirtlington Oak
aka 'Gravity Defier'
Species: Quercus robur (Pedunculate Oak)
Estimated Age: 531 years
Form: Maiden - a fantastic broad, tall and stout specimen
Girth at 1.5m: 7.03m (measured in 2022)
Estimated Year of Birth: 1494
Reigning Monarch at the time: King Henry VII (Tudor)
Story: the owners of Kirtlington Park kindly moved the cattle from this field to allow us to gather acorns using nets suspended from poles underneath as can be seen in one of these photos. A time-saving method! They call this tree 'The Gravity Defier'. It's a real Bull of an Oak.
Sizes available: 40-100cm, 2 Litre pots (many available)
Oakling ages: 3 years old (2022 seed)
ID codes: BP 1736; 1745; 1748; 1764; 1771