The remains of the Whitewebbs Park oak, surrounded by its severed limbs, were discovered by council workers last week and an emergency tree preservation order has now been imposed on the base of its stump. With a girth of 6.1 metres, the oak is in the top 100 of London’s 600,000 oak trees for size and could be up to 500 years old.
News of the oak’s felling breaks in a week when the Tree Council has published a report calling for stronger and more robust protections for England’s most important trees in the wake of the Sycamore Gap felling in September 2023. The trial of the two men accused of felling the Sycamore Gap tree is due to take place later this month in Newcastle Crown Court.
The UK’s largest woodland conservation charity the Woodland Trust has been campaigning for legal protection of the country’s oldest and most important trees.
Head of campaigning Adam Cormack said the tree’s loss was “devastating”.
“We don’t know yet who did this or why and would urge anyone with information to come forward and report it to the police,” Cormack said. “This depressing sight is a reminder to all of us that not every ancient tree is in a safe place.
“Whitewebbs House is where the Gunpowder Plot was planned. Latest estimates put the tree at about 450 years old so the tree would have been alive when Guy Fawkes and others came and went in the months leading up to 5 November 1605.
“It’s just possible that the tree would have overheard Guy Fawkes and his co-conspirators.”
The ‘Guy Fawkes’ oak
Tree is 450-500 year-old
Huge girth of 6 metres
One of top 0.01 per cent oak trees (600,000) in London for girth
The tree is considered by experts to be more ecologically significant than the Sycamore Gap. Oaks are native and can support more than 2300 species
“It is very unusual to see the felling of an oak tree of this size and age. Legally protected status for heritage trees like the Whitewebbs Oak is long overdue. This issue has widespread public support and is an open goal for the government to act upon.”
The charity’s Living Legends petition was handed in to Downing Street with 100,000 signatures in November and the Heritage Trees Private Members Bill was introduced in the House of Lords by Baroness Young in 2023.
It proposes the introduction of a list of nationally important heritage trees and a Heritage Tree Preservation Order that could be used to promote the protection and conservation of the country’s oldest and most important trees. A number of European countries already have similar legal protection systems in place for trees like this.
Enfield resident and member of the local Guardians of Whitewebbs group Benny Hawksbee said local people wanted justice for the old oak.
“The tree belonged to Enfield and to our national heritage. I am devastated. We want answers, and we want guarantees the other trees here are being protected properly.”
Jon Stokes, director of trees, science and research at The Tree Council said the felling of such a “magnificent” tree was shocking.
“Ancient oaks can live up to 1,000 years old and are as precious as our stately homes and castles,” Stokes explained. “Our nation’s green heritage should be valued and protected and we will do everything we can to achieve this.
“One of the key findings in the ‘Protecting trees of high social, cultural and environmental value’ report published in partnership with Forest Research for Defra was that we need to improve the legal protection of our most important trees.
Oak trees are extremely valuable for wildlife and support more than 2,300 species. They are also valuable carbon stores and an irreplaceable part of our landscapes and our lives.
