'All we've got left is the legend': Why the death of the famous Major Oak matters

The Major Oak, one of the UK's most iconic trees, is thought to have died after its first spring with no leaves.

Having survived the axe that claimed much of the surrounding forest to make ships for war and fuel the Industrial Revolution, it grew to be one of the oldest and largest of its kind in the country.

At up to 1,200 years old, the Major Oak is a physical link to legends, and remained a symbol of continuity and strength for more than a millennium.

The tales of the legendary figure Robin Hood hiding in its branches made it a household name with ancient roots deep in the soil, pride and identity of its home county, Nottinghamshire.

Despite its grand age and previous rumours of its demise, the announcement on Thursday still came as a shock to many and prompted an outpouring of mourning across the world.

James Graham, the playwright behind productions like Dear England and writer of the hit TV show Sherwood, grew up in Kirkby-in-Ashfield - a short drive from the forest.

He remembered visits as a child, excited by the myths and struggling to get his head round its age.

"I gasped a little bit when I heard the news," he said. "You just never even questioned it, its existence.

"It had a kind of permanence to it that you assumed would last forever.

"It's something about the quiet dignity of a great tree that feels symbolic, I think, of the character of [our county].

"We had one of the great trees of the country, if not the world, and it was ours."

Broadcaster and naturalist Chris Packham dubbed the Major Oak "one of the greatest trees ever in the UK".

He told the BBC he expects the same "tremendous sorrow" around the tree's loss as people felt when the Sycamore Gap tree was chopped down.

"We have bonded to trees. They live throughout the course of our lives, so they are a stable force. There are trees that I sat under as a child that I still sit under now, and they will outlive me if things are just," he said.

"One third of all the species that live on an oak tree do live on it after it's dead, so it will still be supporting life.

"I can only imagine there must be countless mini Major Oaks around the country, because people would have collected acorns and planted them, and they will have germinated and grown, so the genes of that magnificent tree will persist."

Acting legend and Woodland Trust patron Dame Judi Dench - well known for her love of oak trees - planted an oak sapling from Sherwood Forest in her garden recently.

"I hope everyone who has been inspired by the Major Oak or another ancient tree reaches out to their MP and asks them to improve legal protections for these iconic and vital elements of our national landscape," Dame Dench added.

Visitors to the Major Oak were surprised to be told of its demise.

Elaine Pascoe, 58, from Retford in Nottinghamshire, remembered long picnics in its looming shade and playing there as a child.

She said: "It's iconic.

"As soon as you drive through the M1, you see the sign for Sherwood Forest and Robin Hood Country, and the stories are all part of our heritage.

"It's sad to be watching the end... but we have to celebrate what it has been - a monument."

For Linda Randall - who lives in Warsop in the county - the tree is a link to the area's woodland past and brings the stories told on TV and in film to life.

"I feel so sad that it's died now," the 70-year-old said. "It means a great deal for Nottinghamshire, it brings in a lot of tourists.

"Even when you go abroad, if you say you're from Robin Hood Country, people know where you mean.

"It's there, it's always been there, you've been as a child and bring your own children, it's like another relative - like your great-grandma."

The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB), which manages the site, estimates about 250,000 to 350,000 people visit Sherwood Forest every year, with the Major Oak the biggest draw.

Among them are tourists from around the world, including Jim Briehan, a 44-year-old visiting from Baltimore in the US.

He said he was on holiday with his sons and wanted to see Sherwood Forest, because he was a fan of oaks.

"I think it's beautiful," he said. "To have lived that long and still be here is amazing.

"I think it's cool people have maintained it for such a long time, and no-one has cut it down in 1,200 years.

"That would never happen back home."

The Major Oak is estimated to have begun life about 1,200 years ago, meaning it would have sprouted before the Norman invasion.

Legend has it Robin Hood used it in the Middle Ages to hide from the Sheriff of Nottingham.

According to Rob Brackley, a Robin Hood impersonator for Nottinghamshire County Council, said oak trees were an "outlaw's friend" and hollowed out at about 400 years old.

"They would have been meeting places, outlaws would have hidden dead game and weapons inside," he said.

"Because of their unique shapes, you give them nicknames - they would have been meeting places... and they become signposts and beacons.

"The legend is Robin Hood and his merry men would meet and feast at the tree, they would count up their stolen coins and there would be much merriment of an evening.

"That's the magic of it."

It survived the felling of other oaks in the ancient forest, which were taken to help build Nelson's navy, raise the roof of St Paul's Cathedral and fuel the Industrial Revolution.

The Major Oak's first recorded name was the Cockpen tree, a reference to its use as a cockerel pen to hold the birds before a cockfight.

However, the tree became better known as "the Major's Oak" after it was described in 1790 by a local historian, Major Hayman Rooke.

This helped encourage tourism and over the years, people would travel from all corners to see the increasingly famous tree.

In the early 20th Century, supports were put in to keep the branches up and in the 1970s a barrier was put up, stopping people climbing inside.

The tree also appears on Nottinghamshire County Council's branding, and it helped inspire the logo of Premier League outfit Nottingham Forest.

Even at its great age, experts believe the Major Oak could have lived for potentially hundreds more years.

But it has in many ways been the victim of its own popularity.

According to the RSPB, millions of visitors have, over centuries, compacted the soil to the extent the earth around it was "as solid as concrete at a depth of over one metre in some places".

This in turn strangled the tree's roots, and decades of well-intentioned but damaging attempts to help keep it alive stopped nature running its course.

This, they believe, along with recent hot and dry summers, contributed to its death.

While this may seem like the end for the Major Oak, for many this is just the beginning.

The tree, the RSPB said, will continue to be a habitat for wildlife at Sherwood Forest - a site of special scientific interest, which ensures it is protected in law.

Other experts have said the famous tree will also have a legacy in conservation as those seeking to protect nature learn lessons.

"This has been a deeply humbling experience for all of us. However, the vital lessons we have learned here will directly help protect and care for other ancient trees across the nation.

"The Major Oak's true legacy is no longer just in folklore, but in the future of conservation," Simon Parfey, managing director of SoilBioLab - which has been involved in the tree's care in recent years - added.

Ed Pyne, Woodland Trust senior conservation adviser, said because of the tree's fame, it had received a lot more care, attention and study than other trees.

"That's made it a sort of living museum for how we care for these trees," he added.

While many visiting the tree were glad it was not going to immediately disappear, there was a sense something significant had been lost.

Martin Lumb, 72, from Sheffield, has been coming to see the Major Oak since he was a toddler.

He said: "The story [of Robin Hood] is about things that are from 1,000 or so years ago.

"Robin Hood is no longer alive, the Sheriff of Nottingham is no longer alive. That was the one living piece.

"We've lost any life of the story, and all we've got left is the legend."

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