Heart of Oak Trafalgar Trees

Heart of oak are our ships, heart of oak are our men;
We always are ready, steady, boys, steady!

Written by 18th century actor William Boyce and first performed in an opera.

In England the English oak, Quercus robur, has assumed the status of a national emblem. The Royal Oak at Boscobel House is purported to be where the future King Charles II hid from his Parliamentarian pursuers in 1650 during the English Civil War and the event is still celebrated in some communities on 29th May as Oak Apple Day. In folklore, the Major Oak is where Robin Hood is said to have taken shelter.

The oak is the most common woodland tree in England and ‘heart of oak’ the strongest part. It took 6,000 trees, 5,000 of which were oak, to build Lord Nelson’s flagship, HMS Victory.

In 2005, a quarter of a million oak trees were planted across the country to mark the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Trafalgar. This included 27 woodlands across the country named after the 27 ships that made up Lord Nelson’s fleet, including Victory and Revenge.

As part of the 200th Anniversary of the battle of Trafalgar the Heart of Oak Avenue of 200 trees was planted along the bridleway in the park by volunteers and RDC staff. More than half of the trees have been sponsored by local people in memory of a loved one or as a living ‘family tree’.

For £50 you can sponsor a Trafalgar Oak for your family or in memory of a loved one.
You will receive a certificate of sponsorship and a map showing where your tree is.

The map shows the beginning of the Heart of Oak Avenue at the junction of the new park bridleway with the old Southend bridleway. The oaks are planted along the length of the bridleway and the last few turn down the path towards Pooh Sticks Bridge.