81. Queen’s Park Oak
A very handsome, yet rare oak stands out in Crewe.
Queen’s Park in Crewe is a grand Victorian park designed as an oval by local railway man Francis Webb with evident help from Edward Kemp. Many of the original features remain, including trees approaching 150 years old. The most magnificent of these is the tall, densely canopied Mirbeck’s oak growing in the relative isolation of the north eastern play area.
Species details
Mirbeck’s Oak
Quercus canariensis
Where to find it
Queen's Park, Victoria Avenue, Crewe CW2 7SJ
///asking.shall.quarrel | 53.097227, -2.466572
Mirbeck’s oak notes
Also known as the Algerian oak, Mirbeck’s oak is indeed an African species, although one that has crossed the Strait of Gibraltar and can also be found on the Iberian peninsula. Its Latin name, ‘canariensis’ is a red herring however; this species is not native to the Canary Islands. Remarkably for a species from such southerly locations, it thrives throughout these islands, and I have seen trees growing as far north as Glasgow and Belfast. It is hardy and handsome, one of the loveliest of oaks, and yet it is unfathomably rare, a tree only occasionally encountered in parks, particularly in the north west of England.
