| Wyndham's Oak | |
|---|---|
The oak in October 2018
| |
 | |
| Species | Pedunculate oak (Quercus robur) |
| Location | Silton, Dorset, England |
| Coordinates | 51°03′47″N 2°18′34″W / 51.063153°N 2.309385°W / 51.063153; -2.309385 |
| Custodian | [In private ownership] |
Wyndham's Oak (sometimes Judge Wyndham's Oak and also known as the Silton Oakorstumpy Silton) is an historic pedunculate oak (Quercus robur) tree in Silton, Dorset, England.[1][2][3][4] It was one of a number of oaks that historically marked the boundary of between Selwood Forest and Gillingham Forest, a medieval hunting ground.[1][5]
The tree is up to 1,000 years old,[5] and is the oldest tree in the county of Dorset.[6] As of April 2008, its trunk measured 38 feet (12 m) in circumference—the greatest of any tree in the country—and the bole was 26 feet (7.9 m) high.[1] It is named after Sir Hugh Wyndham, a Judge of the Common Pleas who used to sit in its shade to relax while contemplating cases,[1][5] and was reputedly used as a gallows from which to hang rebels convicted of participation in the Monmouth rebellion.[5]
It was the subject of an engraving during the reign of George III,[2] and a drawing by the artist Mark Frith, which was commissioned by publisher Felix Dennis and bequeathed by him to the charity he founded, the Heart of England Forest.[7]
It was one of ten candidates in the Woodland Trust's poll to find the "England's Tree of the Year 2018".[8]
As of September 2019, the ground where the tree stands is part of a privately owned farm.[5]
