Queen Elizabeth I Oak

Paid a visit to an old friend today, probably our oldest.

This tree is estimated to be between 800 and 1000 years of age. It’s a Sessile Oak on some of the Cowdray Estate parkland, near Easebourne, Midhurst. You can park by the Benbow pond and head north from there. The fields are private but apparently Lord Cowdray allows the tree to be visited.

Its major claim to fame is that (allegedly) Queen Elizabeth I sheltered beneath it on a visit to Midhurst in 1591. In June 2002, in celebration of Queen Elizabeth II’s Golden Jubilee, the Tree Council designated it the Queen Elizabeth I Oak, one of fifty Great British Trees. It is the third biggest Sessile Oak ever recorded with a girth of between 12.50 and 12.80m, depending whether the tape hits a bump or burr, or not. It’s completely hollow, big enough (it is said) for 15 men to stand inside. At some time in its long life, it has been pollarded, most likely more than once, which accounts for its relatively small canopy.

There are other venerable trees in the parkland, and a new avenue has just been planted. But the QEI Oak is magnificent. I get a real sense of history, wondering what it has witnessed in its lifetime. And it is still very much alive.

You can see a close up Here
Try it in Large to appreciate its magnificence.


Official Bits: Sessile Oak at grid ref: SU91322264
Tree number 4418
Status verified by Sussex Wildlife Trust 2007