Brockwell Park’s Veteran Oak
London County Council opened Brockwell Park in 1891, following the acquisition of the land and house of Brockwell Hall, built between 1811 and 1813, and set in what was then the Surrey countryside.
There is at least one survivor of this lost countryside in the park today. On the slope between Brockwell Hall and Norwood Road stands a giant veteran English oak. Its exact age is unknown, with sources suggesting it to be anything from 500 to over 700 years old (most settle at around 600). With a girth of over 6 metres, the tree has a huge spread of branches, and dominates its corner of the park.
The tree has won many fans over the years. To local wildlife, it provides home and foods, and for park goers it provides a meeting place and a shady spot for picnics. The tree has even featured in the top 20 of lists of London’s favourite trees, as voted by the public. In the summer of 2020, a large bough fell from the tree, and (as of writing), lies just beside it; a crowdfunding campaign was launched in February 2021 to have the bough carved in to a memorial bench to all those lost in the Covid-19 pandemic.
