A TREE in North Dorset is in the running for a national award.
Wyndham’s Oak at Silton is one of 10 trees shortlisted in the Woodland Trust’s Tree of the Year award for 2018.
The tree is believed to be up to 1,000 years old and measures more than 32ft.
It is said to have marked the boundary between Selwood Forest and the Forest of Gillingham.
According to the Woodland Trust, the tree is also known as the Judge’s Tree and was named after Judge Hugh Wyndham who purchased the manor of Silton in 1641.
He was the Justice of the Common Pleas at the time of Charles II and used to sit within the tree and smoke his pipe.
Towards the end of the 17th century, rebels were supposedly hanged from the tree following an attempt to overthrow the Duke of York in 1685.
The current owner of the farm once discovered a cow missing for two days stuck inside the follow trunk of the tree.
Other trees in the shortlist include The Bruce Castle Oak in Tottenham and the Eastern Preston Twin at Brighton.
To cast your vote, visit woodlandtrust.org.uk/visiting-woods/tree-of-year-2018/england/
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