The Pilgrim Oak
Introduction
The photograph on this page of The Pilgrim Oak by Antony Dixon as part of the Geograph project.
The Geograph project started in 2005 with the aim of publishing, organising and preserving representative images for every square kilometre of Great Britain, Ireland and the Isle of Man.
There are currently over 7.5m images from over 14,400 individuals and you can help contribute to the project by visiting https://www.geograph.org.uk
The Pilgrim Oak
Image: © Antony Dixon Taken: 11 Nov 2012
This handsome old oak tree stands at the main entrance to Newstead Abbey (which was actually a Priory). It is also sometimes known as 'The Gospel Oak', as pilgrims making their way to the Priory would stop and read the Gospels here before going down to the Priory. It was also used as a venue for local festivals. I have been unable to find out the age of the tree, but it was already a notable specimen in Byron's time, and was described as 'a venerable tree, of great size' by Washington Irving when he visited the area in the early 19th century. In autumn colours, it stands out nicely; at other times of year it tends to blend in to the background.
Images are licensed for reuse under creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0
Image Location
Latitude
53.08492
Longitude
-1.171055