king john's oak timeline cards - eastdevonaonb.org.uk to... · large double tudor rose to...

King John's Oak timeline cardsCounting the rings of history

LEGACY TO LANDSCAPELinking King John’s Oak to the future

King John’s Oak has stood in the Shute Medieval Deer Park for over 800 years and throughout those eight centuries will have been witness to many significant events in our history. The tree would have watched over changes in the landscape and seen historical events unfold nearby.

The King John's Oak is a magnificent tree – a great resource for people to learn about the importance of veteran trees, their longevity, the wealth of wildlife that they support and their future in the landscape.

About King John's Oak

Legacy to Landscape is run in partnership by the following organisations

Written by Ruth Worsley | Design by Strata

InstructionsThis timeline activity contains 18 cards – divided into three sets of six cards, illustrating historical events. Each set represents one of three stages of the oak tree's life. The sets are colour coded to represent these stages:

Stage 1: acorn

Growth for three hundred of years of the young tree from its beginnings

Stage 2: oak leaves

The tree is now resting for three hundred years in the landscape

Stage 3: decaying trunk and rotting out of branches

For the last three hundred years it declines as the tree becomes shorter with the crown and trunk shrinking

Continued overleaf

Instructions•When visiting King John or any old tree, stand the group by the tree and imagine what the tree might have seen happening back in time.

•Give each group member a card or a card per pair, if group larger than 18.

•They then need to look at the card to find the year in which their historical event is described, get the group to line up from the tree in chronological order of the cards – with the ‘oldest’ fact card nearest the tree.

•Once in a line ask each person to hold up their card to show the group and read the first paragraph of the historical event, and name the monarch in whose reign the event took place. The dates on the bottom of the card show the length of the monarch's reign.


For more information on Legacy to Landscape visit:

eastdevonaonb.org.uk/our-work/ wildlife/legacy-to-landscape


King John's Oak timeline

1215King John's Oak

timeline

Shute Deer Park

King John hunted deer in the medieval deer park here at Shute Park. In 1215 he also signed a special document called the Magna Carta.

Magna Carta was a significant charter in history – signed by King John. It was an agreement between King John and a group of English barons following years of the King’s disregard of several ancient laws and customs by which England had been governed, as well as excessive taxation. He was made to sign, what is seen now as a bill of human rights. It included rights for all citizens to own and inherit property and be protected from excessive taxes. Widely viewed as one of the most important legal documents in the development of modern democracy, the Magna Carta was a crucial turning point in the struggle to establish freedom. It was signed at a place called Runnymeade, in Surrey.

1215

King John 1199–1216



1280

Colcombe Castle

It was built by the powerful Courtenay family, earls of Devon, who became lords of the Manor there. However nearly 400 years on, it belonged to the Pole family from Shute. During the Civil War (1640 -1645), while it was being used as a garrison for the Royalist troops, it was burnt down by the Parliamentarians. Only the kitchen and fireplace survived. For many years it remained a ruin.

1280

King Edward I 1272–1307



1349

Black Death

This was a very infectious disease which swept through the country. The disease is caused by bacteria and carried by rodents such as rats. It is believed to have originated in central Asia and travelled along a trading route called the Silk Road. Millions of people across Europe and Asia were affected. Many villages in England were wiped out. A third of the country’s population died. Shute village survived this deadly disease.

1349

King Edward III 1327–1377



1415

Battle of Agincourt

This battle which took place in France was won by the use of longbows. Longbows are made from the yew tree. Yew trees would have been growing in the deer park alongside King John’s Oak. The earliest longbow from England was found at Ashcott Heath in Somerset and is dated 2665 BC. More than 3,500 arrows and 137 whole longbows were recovered from the Mary Rose, a ship of Henry VIII’s navy which sank in Portsmouth in 1545.

1415

King Henry V 1413–1422



1489

First British pound coin

The history of the British one pound coin started with the gold sovereign which was first issued in 1489 for Henry VII. The design showed the King seated facing on a throne, a very majestic image. It is from this image of the monarch or sovereign that the new coin gained its name - the sovereign. On the other side of the coin is a shield bearing the royal arms, on a large double Tudor rose to symbolise the union of York and Lancaster, after the long drawn out War of the Roses.

One of the reasons for the issue of the sovereign was to imitate similar large gold coins being produced on the Continent, another was to impress Europe with the power, prestige and success of the new Tudor dynasty.

1489

Henry VII 1485–1509



1490

St Andrew's Church, Colyton

The Octagonal lantern tower was built in 1490. This eight sided tower is said to have been used as a beacon for ships on the River Axe, to the east, when ships could still sail all the way up to Colyford. A Saxon church occupied the site of St Andrew's until it was replaced by the present Norman church in the 11th century.

1490

Henry VII 1485–1509



1545

Mary Rose sinks in the Solent, near Southampton

The Mary Rose, one of Henry VIII’s most successful warships, was in service for 34 years which was most of his reign. She fought in three wars. No account exists on how it sank, but it could have been a gust of wind making the ship unstable as it was making a turn to the north. With gun ports opened for battle the ship could have flooded. Also it could have become just too heavy after a recent refit which had added extra guns to her firepower.

Henry VIII 1509–1547

1545



1588

Shute Beacon house, Shute Woods

The beacon is one of only two remaining in Devon. A beacon bonfire would be built in a fire basket on top of a pole and used to signal messages, the most famous of which was to warn of the approaching Spanish Armada. England was threatened with an invasion from the Catholic Spanish King Philip II, who wanted to return Elizabeth I’s Protestant kingdom back to her older sister, Queen Mary’s Catholic religion. They sailed from Lisbon, in neighbouring Portugal. However the rough weather in the English Channel warded off this threat and many ships sunk. In the distance, King John’s Oak would have seen this vast navy of about 130 ships, carrying 30,000 soldiers and sailors looking a very intimidating sight. Luckily our country’s stormy, rough weather ensured they did not set foot on English soil.

1588

Elizabeth I 1558–1603



1660

Oak Apple Day

The oak is the tree of kings. 29 May 1660 marks the day Charles II escaped from the Roundheads after the Battle of Worcester. Charles hid in the branches of an oak tree. Nine years later he rode triumphantly into London to be crowned king, after the country had been ruled by Oliver Cromwell who was not a king and was known as Lord Protector. Many villages up and down the country celebrate this day with great festivities which involve dressing up and decorating with oak leaves.

Oaks are seen as the kings of woodlands – they show strength and patience with their slow and steady aim to be the biggest, oldest and most beautiful tree in the wood.

1660

Charles II 1660–1685



1666

The Great Fire of London

The fire started in a bakery in Pudding Lane near London Bridge and swept through the heart of the city. With overhanging timber houses built very close together in narrow streets, the fire spread very quickly. Also, a long, hot summer had left London dry and the resulting drought had caused water reserves to get very low. However, the greatest fear was not the fire but the plague which had killed nearly 70,000 people in the two years before the fire. The strong east wind and dry dusty air which fired the flames also carried the plague further taking more lives.

1666

Charles II 1660–1685



1685

Monmouth Rebellion

Against the wishes of the Protestant majority, the Catholic James II was crowned king in 1685. Four months later his nephew, the Duke of Monmouth, exiled in Holland, sailed to England planning to raise an army to overthrow the king. He landed on the coast of Dorset at Lyme Regis, with 83 followers and began a recruitment march. Many joined him from Colyton. King John’s Oak would have seen his ship sailing in the English Channel towards Lyme Regis on 11th June 1685.

1685

James II 1685–1688



1737

Shute House Turkey Oak

This is the ‘fattest’ Turkey oak in the UK and also it is thought to be the first Turkey oak to be planted in this country. Turkey oaks first arrived in this country in 1737. They were brought in by a nursery man and plant hunter called William Luccombe from Turkey. The Shute House and Stables were built between 1785-1789. At that time it is possible that many new trees were planted on the Shute estate, so maybe this is when the Turkey Oak was planted. In the rich red sandstone soils of Devon with a mild and rather wet climate, Turkey oaks grow really well and grow much faster than common oaks.

1737

George II 1727–1760



1785

Shute House

This magnificent Georgian house was built between 1785 and 1789 to replace the older medieval Shute House now known as Shute Barton. The Pole family had lived there since the 1560s. John Pole and his wife Anne Templer who came from a very wealthy family, wanted to live in a bigger grander house and impress the Prince Regent. However when he came to Shute House, he only stayed one night! The Poles even demolished half of old Shute house to help build this much bigger house. They built it while the field was full of growing corn. A gypsy said that they should wait until the corn is cut otherwise there will be a curse on the family. From then on, the heir always died before the estate was passed down, therefore the second son would inherit.

1785

George III 1760–1820



1805

Battle of Trafalgar: HMS Victory and Lord Nelson

HMS Victory was the famous flag ship of Lord Nelson’s navy which led the country to victory in the Battle of Trafalgar. Over 6000 oak trees were used to build this great ship to fight the combined French and Spanish navies in the Napoleonic wars. Luckily King John’s Oak was safe from the axe, but many in the Devon landscape would have been chopped down.

1805

George III 1760–1820



1860

Seaton Junction

The railway arrives in the landscape. King John’s Oak would have seen and heard the steam trains travelling from Colyton to Seaton Junction station and also to Exeter. It was originally named ‘Colyton for Seaton’ station. The station opened in 1860. However a hundred years later it shut. The steady decline in holiday makers using the train resulting from increased car ownership in the 1960s, led to a gradual run down of services, and the branch line and junction station closed on 7 March 1966.

1860

Queen Victoria 1827–1901



1914–18

First World War Cavalry horses

Many horses were taken from farms up and down the country, including Devon, to be used during the war for transporting materials. They had to pull ammunition cars, ambulances, and guns. King John’s Oak would have seen many horses on surrounding farms leave to be taken by ship across to France. Eight million horses died working hard to help Britain and her allies win the war.

1914– 18

George V 1910–1936



1939-45

Battle of Britain

This would have been a noisy time for the quiet medieval deer park. The skies above Devon’s landscape were filled with fighter planes from nearby airfields. When darkness filled the sky, many German planes crossed the landscape to bomb the Devon cities of Exeter and Plymouth. The Axe Valley was an important line of defence, a stop line, as any land invaders would have been stopped from invading the rest of Britain.

1939–45

George VI 1936–1952



2012

Queens Sapphire Jubilee

Queen Elizabeth II became the first British monarch to reach the Sapphire Jubilee. This means Queen Elizabeth has reigned for 65 years and longer than Queen Victoria who reigned for 64 years. There was a royal gun salute to mark the occasion. The Queen is on our postage stamp and note that she is facing to the left. The previous monarch King George would have been facing right. They alternate each time.

2012

Queen Elizabeth 1952–

king john's oak timeline cards - eastdevonaonb.org.uk to... · large double tudor rose to...

Documents