3 min readUpdated: Jun 19, 2026 01:59 PM IST
Written by Salonee Kulkarni
The 1,200-year-old Major Oak tree which sheltered the 13th-century bandit from stories, Robin Hood, has been declared dead by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) on Thursday, citing an inability to sprout leaves this spring, CNN reported.
The Sherwood Forest in England’s Nottinghamshire has been under threat due to climate change. The RSPB implemented protection strategies like installing support beams under the tree’s branches. The tree was also saved from the axe’s blade by adopting fencing strategies in the 1970s.
“The tree’s failure to produce leaves this year is heartbreaking for everyone,” said Hollie Drake of the RSPB. Major Oak was one of the biggest trees in Britain, with its canopy spread of 28 metres (92 feet) and a trunk circumference of 11 meters (36 feet).
Over the past two centuries, the dense canopy and twisted branches in Nottingham have compressed the soil, making it difficult for rain to reach the roots, as reported by Associated Press.
Speaking during a press conference, SoilBioLab Managing Director and tree care team member Simon Parfey said, “While the Major Oak team worked tirelessly to revive the environment around this iconic tree — and saw encouraging signs of life in some areas — the damage, it now seems, was already too deeply entrenched to fully reverse,” CNN reported.
What killed the tree?
The connection to Robinhood has attracted millions of tourists to the Major Oak tree; the soil has become compacted as a result of repeated visits, RSPB said in a press release.
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“It has seen an enormous amount of activity,” Chloe Ryder, the RSPB’s estate operations manager at Sherwood Forest, said to CNN.
Reg Harris, who has been keeping a close eye on the tree as director of arboriculture for Urban Forestry, explained: “The most recent decline has corresponded with five very hot and droughty summers, most notably in July 2022 when the UK experienced record temperatures of 40 degrees Celsius.”
Memory of the tree will transcend time
Major Hayman Rooke first mentioned the tree in 1790 in a book on oaks. His detailed description helped draw widespread attention to it and cemented its place in local folklore.
The tree is closely associated with the legend of Robin Hood, the outlaw who famously robbed the rich to help the poor. According to folklore, Robin Hood and his band of Merry Men used the vast, twisted branches of the Major Oak in Sherwood Forest as a hideout. Over the centuries, the legend has been immortalised in numerous films, books and other forms of popular culture.
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“The Major Oak will continue to stand at the heart of Sherwood as a natural monument for visitors to come and see, living on in the legend of Robin Hood and continuing to provide as much support to the forest’s ecosystem in death as in life,” Hollie Drake, senior site manager at RSPB Sherwood Forest said.
(The article is curated by Salonee Kulkarni, an intern who is with The Indian Express)
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