The old chained oak, Oakamoor, Staffordshire, England, UK
On an autumn night, the Earl of Shrewsbury was returning to his home at Alton Towers when an old woman suddenly appeared in the road ahead of his horse and coach. The coach stopped to find why she was there at which point the old woman begged for a coin. The Earl cruelly dismissed her, so the old woman stated that she would place a curse on him. The old woman told the Earl that for every branch on the Old Oak Tree that fell, a member of the Earl’s family would die. The Earl dismissed this and carried on his way. That same night, a violent storm caused a single branch from the old oak tree to break and fall. Later that evening, a member of the Earl’s family suddenly and mysteriously died. Now firmly believing the power of the curse, the Earl is said to have ordered his servants to chain every branch together to prevent other branches from falling. To this day, the Oak tree remains chained up.
Size: 6720px × 4480px
Location: Oakamoor, Staffordshire, England, UK
Photo credit: © John Keates / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: chained, chains, curse, earl, england, legend, north, oak, oakamoor, shrewsbury, staffordshire, staffs, tied, tree, uk
