Major Oak: key obituary facts
Is Major Oak dead? Yes. Major Oak died on June 17, 2026.
Cause of death: Major Oak's cause of death has not been publicly confirmed.
What was Major Oak known for?
Major Oak was a tree in Sherwood Forest.
Major Oak, the famous English oak in Sherwood Forest, died on June 17, 2026.
Estimated to be about 800 to 1,000 years old, the tree stood near Edwinstowe in Nottinghamshire and was long associated in local folklore with Robin Hood, said to have used it as a shelter. Commonly described as weighing about 23 tons, with a girth of 33 feet and a canopy spanning 92 feet, it remained within a Site of Special Scientific Interest.
The tree’s name is believed to have been taken from the antiquarian Major Hayman Rooke, who wrote about it in 1790 and described it as an ancient and majestic oak.