176. Stafford Puzzle Oak
An old oak takes on the role of a churchyard yew.
Like many old churches, St Mary’s Castle Church has an ancient tree growing in its churchyard. But, unlike most, this one is an oak. The church stands on the edge of Stafford below the castle, a fortification much altered over the centuries but with its original Norman foundations intact. The tree is clearly very old, and looks out of place, posing the question: how did it come to grow here?
Species details
Pedunculate oak
Quercus robur
Where to find it
St Mary’s Castle Church, Newport Road, Stafford ST16 1DJ
///birds.riots.appear | 52.796531, -2.140458
Did you hear me on Cerys today?
I was invited onto tree lover Cerys Matthews’ 6Music show earlier this year where I read a passage from Tree Hunting. If you missed it, I made Cerys’ Best of 2025 show, you can find me right after Neneh Cherry (no less).
A couple of Tree Hunting reviews
Tree Hunting has had positive reviews in several well-known publications since it was published in May, but this week I was alerted to two more. First I should thank Séverine Cochard for her lovely piece for British Wildlife which you can read here. And my thanks are also due to Maggie Carson who reviewed it for Studies in Photography – Leaves, the journal of the Scottish Society for the History of Photography. I’ve reproduced it below, and I encourage you to consider purchasing a copy of what is a lovely magazine.
How about a few more oaks?
And why not, I have featured lots of oaks over the years, here are a few:
A sessile oak
A Hungarian oak
A Lucombe oak
A hybrid oak
A Mirbeck’s oak
A Turkey oak
