Wednesday Walk - The Chained Oak

I'd read about a tree called the Chained Oak, so I popped over to Staffordshire to check it out. Luckily, we found it fairly quickly. The old tree has chains around it to prevent its branches from falling.

This is due to an alleged curse put upon the tree in 1821 when the 15th Earl of Shrewsbury refused to give any money to a poor woman that was begging for money, so she put a curse upon the tree. For every branch that falls off the tree, a member of the Earl’s family would meet an untimely death. Spookily, later that night, one of the Earl’s relatives died under mysterious circumstances.

The Earl thought that the curse must be true and ordered that the branches should be chained up to stop more from falling and killing anyone else.

It is quite an impressive oak with steps leading up to it. It is much better seeing it in real life. Photos just don't do it justice.

#wednesdaywalk initiated by @tattoodjay.

Photos by @ellenripley - Julie S. All rights reserved.