Ancient 'Robin Hood' tree is dead, experts say

2 hours ago

Asha Patel, East Midlands and

David Pittam, Nottingham

Ben Andrew/RSPB

The Major Oak - which has stood at the heart of Sherwood Forest for hundreds of years - has had its first spring without new leaves

The Major Oak, one of the UK's most iconic trees due to its vast age, size and links to the legend of Robin Hood, is believed by experts to have died.

The ancient oak is estimated to have lived in Sherwood Forest in Nottinghamshire for up to 1,200 years, and is considered one of Britain's biggest oak trees.

Conservationists worked to protect the tree, which attracted millions of visitors over its life, but in recent years the natural giant was in decline.

The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) - the conservation charity which manages the forest - added after the tree's first spring with no leaves this year, scientific experts said the Major Oak had died.

While it was difficult to determine the exact cause of the oak's demise, the RSPB said a combination of issues - including years of "well-intentioned structural intervention and huge amounts of human activity" around the tree - were thought to be "major contributors".

The charity said the effects of climate change - including recent heatwaves and droughts - had compounded challenges it would naturally be facing at its age.

The Major Oak will remain standing in the forest as a monument for people and wildlife, the RSPB confirmed.

Saplings from the tree have also been planted across the world.

Nottinghamshire County Council

Pantomime actors Barney Harwood, Su Pollard and David Hasselhoff all received saplings of the Major Oak in 2013

Legend has it that the outlaw Robin Hood used the Major Oak's hollow trunk - which in fact was caused by fungi - as his hideout.

The oak had many names but the "Major" stuck after the tree was mentioned in a book in 1790 by Major Hayman Rooke - a former British Army soldier who lived in Mansfield Woodhouse - a few miles from Sherwood Forest - after he left the military.

According to the RSPB, the book prompted the first waves of tourism to the forest and the "world-famous" tree.

Legendary actor Dame Judi Dench is known for her love of ancient oak trees, and has paid tribute to the Major Oak.

Reg Harris

One of the first known images of taken of the Major Oak, according to the RSPB

Andy Rain/EPA/Shutterstock

Dame Judi Dench is well known for her love of ancient oak trees

Dame Judi, patron and ambassador for the Woodland Trust, said: "The Major Oak has provided inspiration for countless stories, poems, paintings and people for more than 1,000 years - all the while itself teeming with life and providing a home to an enormous range of wildlife.

"I was lucky enough to plant an oak sapling from Sherwood Forest with Woodland Trust CEO Darren Moorcroft in my garden recently. It has a special place alongside the cutting from the Sycamore Gap tree .

"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."

Getty Images

A depiction of Robin Hood and Maid Marian getting married in Sherwood Forest from an antique book dating back to 1886

While the stories surrounding the ancient tree and its home have drawn visitors to the site, its distinctive long limbs, sprawling canopy and hollowing trunk - with a circumference of about 11 metres - have also made it an iconic landmark in Nottinghamshire.

At one time, visitors would climb into the oak's hollow trunk but from the 1970s, when a fence was placed around the tree, it was appreciated from a distance.

Early efforts to preserve and protect the tree included supports for some of its larger branches and while intended to help the oak, they were likely to have contributed to its demise, the RSPB added.

The tree - pictured in 2024 - has struggled in recent years

Over the last few years, it was noted that the Major Oak had a "noticeable reduction" in the quality and quantity of its leaves.

Recent conservation work had focused on the soil under the tree, which had become compacted from the footfall of its many visitors, the RSPB said.

The charity added compaction made it harder for rainwater to penetrate the soil and for the tree's root system to take in the oxygen and nutrients it needed.

A close-up of the giant's hollowing trunk in 1988

Ed Pyne, Woodland Trust senior conservation adviser, said it was "one of the country's most important trees".

"To see the loss of a tree like this is always incredibly tragic," he told the BBC. "The Major Oak is perhaps the most famous ancient tree in the UK.

"We've learned so much from the work that we've done... that we could go and apply to other trees across the country."

He added - had it not been for challenges like climate change and 200 years of visiting tourists compacting the soil around it - the tree could have lived for hundreds more years, as tre…