The Wallace Oak was an oak tree that stood in

Elderslie Elderslie may refer to one of the following locations: * Elderslie, Scotland Elderslie ( gd, Ach na Feàrna) is a village in the council area and historic county of Renfrewshire in west central Scotland. It chiefly serves as a commuter village, ...

, Renfrewshire. It is reputed to have seeded around 1100 and by the late 13th-century grew on the estate of Scottish independence leader

William Wallace Sir William Wallace ( gd, Uilleam Uallas, ; Norman French: ; 23 August 1305) was a Scottish knight who became one of the main leaders during the First War of Scottish Independence. Along with Andrew Moray, Wallace defeated an English army a ...

's father. Wallace is reputed to have hidden himself within the tree to escape from English soldiers. The tree was damaged by the removal of wood to make souvenirs in the 19th-century and it fell during a storm in 1856.

Association with Wallace

The oak is described as being at least 700 years old in a book of 1838, giving an approximate seeding date of 1100 AD. The tree stood at the west end of the village of Elderslie in Renfrewshire, to the north of the turnpike road. By the late 13th-century the tree came into the ownership of the father of Scottish independence leader

. William Wallace himself is said to have been born on the estate associated with the oak. In legend, Wallace is said to have used the branches of the tree to hide from an English patrol. This legend later became more outlandish, with it being stated that the tree hid 300 of Wallace's men. Its canopy has been variously described as covering and a

Scottish acre A Scottish or Scots acre () was a land measurement used in Scotland. It was standardised in 1661. When the Weights and Measures Act of 1824 was implemented the English System was standardised into the Imperial System and Imperial acres were impose ...

(). The tree was well known by the 14th century and the

Wallace Yew The Wallace Yew is a tree in Elderslie, Scotland, Elderslie, Renfrewshire in Scotland. It stands on grassland said to be near the home of medieval Scottish leader William Wallace. In legend, Wallace is said to have hidden in its branches to esc ...

later grew next to it.

19th century

In 1825 the trunk was measured at in circumference at ground level, reducing to at a height of from the ground. It measured in height with branches extending up to to give a canopy covering 19 English square poles of land (). After this time the tree declined, partly due to age and partly due to parts of it being removed as souvenirs. By the mid 19th-century it had become common for Scottish men to own a snuff box that incorporated a fragment of the Wallace Oak together with part of a tree said to have been planted by

Mary, Queen of Scots Mary, Queen of Scots (8 December 1542 – 8 February 1587), also known as Mary Stuart or Mary I of Scotland, was Queen of Scotland from 14 December 1542 until her forced abdication in 1567. The only surviving legitimate child of James V of Scot ...

Holyrood Palace The Palace of Holyroodhouse ( or ), commonly referred to as Holyrood Palace or Holyroodhouse, is the official residence of the British monarch in Scotland. Located at the bottom of the Royal Mile in Edinburgh, at the opposite end to Edinbu ...

, part of another tree under which she is said to have watched the

Battle of Langside The Battle of Langside was fought on 13 May 1568 between forces loyal to Mary, Queen of Scots, and forces acting in the name of her infant son James VI. Mary’s short period of personal rule ended in 1567 in recrimination, intrigue, and disast ...

and a portion of the rafters of

Alloway Auld Kirk The Alloway Auld Kirk, which dates back to the 16th Century, is a ruin in Alloway, South Ayrshire, Scotland, celebrated as the scene of the witches' dance in the poem " Tam o' Shanter" by Robert Burns. Robert Burns William Burnes, father of the ...

(made famous by

Robert Burns Robert Burns (25 January 175921 July 1796), also known familiarly as Rabbie Burns, was a Scottish poet and lyricist. He is widely regarded as the national poet of Scotland and is celebrated worldwide. He is the best known of the poets who hav ...

). By 1851,

Jacob George Strutt Jacob George Strutt (4 August 1784 – 1867) was a British portrait and landscape painter and engraver in the manner of John Constable. He was the husband of the writer Elizabeth Strutt, and father of the painter, traveller and archaeologist ...

drew it for his ''Sylva Britannica'', many of its branches had been removed and it was described as "a melancholy torso, bald and frail, with its limbs hacked off by relic hunters, like Wallace's by the hangman". The tree fell during a storm in 1856. Its timber was reputedly used to make two

regency-style Regency architecture encompasses classical buildings built in the United Kingdom during the Regency era in the early 19th century when George IV was Prince Regent, and also to earlier and later buildings following the same style. The period co ...

tables. John McAdam commissioned an elaborate frame made from the oak in 1867 which he intended to be used to contain letters about Wallace at the

National Wallace Monument The National Wallace Monument (generally known as the Wallace Monument) is a 67 metre tower on the shoulder of the Abbey Craig, a hilltop overlooking Stirling in Scotland. It commemorates Sir William Wallace, a 13th- and 14th-century Scottish hero ...

References

{{Reflist Individual trees in Scotland Individual oak trees William Wallace 1850s individual tree deaths