The Pontfadog Oak was a sessile oak tree (''

Quercus petraea ''Quercus petraea'', commonly known as the sessile oak, Cornish oak, Irish Oak or durmast oak, is a species of oak tree native to most of Europe and into Anatolia and Iran. The sessile oak is the national tree of Ireland, and an unofficial emble ...

'') that stood on Cilcochwyn farm above the village of

Pontfadog Pontfadog is a village in the Ceiriog Valley west of Chirk in Wrexham County Borough, Wales; it is part of the community of Glyntraian. Like the neighbouring village of Glyn Ceiriog, the growth of Pontfadog is connected to the area's former qu ...

, in the

Ceiriog Valley The Ceiriog Valley ( cy, Dyffryn Ceiriog) is the valley of the River Ceiriog in north-east Wales. Its Welsh name, "Dyffryn Ceiriog", is the name of an electoral ward of Wrexham County Borough. The ward is the largest ward of the county borough b ...

west of

Chirk Chirk ( cy, Y Waun) is a town and community in Wrexham County Borough, Wales, south of Wrexham, between it and Oswestry. At the 2011 census, it had a population of 4,468. Historically in the traditional county of Denbighshire, and later Clwy ...

in the county borough of

Wrexham Wrexham ( ; cy, Wrecsam; ) is a city and the administrative centre of Wrexham County Borough in Wales. It is located between the Welsh mountains and the lower Dee Valley, near the border with Cheshire in England. Historically in the count ...

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

, until it was blown over in the early hours of 18 April 2013. At the time it was reputed to be the oldest and largest oak tree in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

. Known as "Wales's national tree", its girth was over in 1881. In 1996 using

Forestry Commission The Forestry Commission is a non-ministerial government department responsible for the management of publicly owned forests and the regulation of both public and private forestry in England. The Forestry Commission was previously also respon ...

techniques, its age was estimated as between 1,181 and 1,628 years.

Recognition

The oak was one of 50

Great British Trees The Great British Trees were 50 trees selected by The Tree Council in 2002 to spotlight trees in the United Kingdom in honour of the Queen's Golden Jubilee. England Western England * Tortworth Chestnut in Tortworth, Gloucestershire * Wes ...

selected by

The Tree Council The Tree Council was founded in 1974 in the United Kingdom, and became a Charitable organization#Charity registration, registered charity in 1978. Its primary objective is to act as an umbrella organisation for local groups involved in the plant ...

in 2002 to spotlight trees in

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...

in honour of the Queen's Golden Jubilee, "in recognition of its place in the national heritage".Wording on plaque It was one of just 74 trees described in the 2012 book ''Heritage Trees Wales'', published in association with The Tree Council and with support from the

Countryside Council for Wales The Countryside Council for Wales (CCW; cy, Cyngor Cefn Gwlad Cymru (CCGC)) was a Welsh Assembly sponsored body responsible for wildlife conservation, landscape and countryside access authority for Wales. It was merged with Forestry Commissi ...

and

Forestry Commission Wales Natural Resources Wales ( cy, Cyfoeth Naturiol Cymru) is a Welsh Government sponsored body, which became operational from 1 April 2013, when it took over the management of the natural resources of Wales. It was formed from a merger of the Count ...

Notes

References

{{coord , 52, 56, 18, N, 3, 8, 32, W, type:landmark_region:GB-WRX, display=title Individual oak trees Wrexham County Borough Individual trees in Wales 2010s individual tree deaths

Recognition

See also

Notes

References