The largest collection of ancient oak trees in Europe has been found hiding in plain sight on the Oxfordshire estate where Sir Winston Churchill was born.
The grounds of Blenheim Palace were designed by Capability Brown in the early 18th century but he left untouched 120 acres of wilderness known as High Park. It was here, on a private part of the estate, that it appears no one saw the trees for the wood.
A researcher from Kew Gardens who is surveying Britain’s ancient trees made the unexpected discovery. Until now it had been thought that England’s most ancient oaks stood in Windsor Great Park.
More than 60 giant oaks, several of which span nine metres, stand in the medieval deer park founded by Henry I in the 11th century. The area is strictly out of bounds to the public to protect the untouched landscape. The size of the trees, believed to have been naturally seeded from acorns rather than planted, dates them to between AD960 and 1196.
The botanist Aljos Farjon made the discovery while researching a book, Ancient Oaks in the English Landscape, to be released by Kew Publishing next year.
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Mr Farjon has looked at about 100 sites across England, which has the most ancient oaks in Europe. He said: “There is no other site in England that has so many ancient oaks and no other place which has so many nine-metre trees. There are four alive and one standing dead. It is truly remarkable. The fact that this landscape is important has been known for some time, but as High Park is not open to the public there has been no real investigation and I am the first to study it.”
The estate was given to Churchill’s ancestor, John Churchill, the 1st Duke of Marlborough, in the 18th century as a reward for his victory at the Battle of Blenheim. When Capability Brown landscaped the grounds in the 1760s, High Park might have been ignored to save costs.
Churchill, whose father was a son of the 7th Duke of Marlborough, was born at the palace in 1874. He died in 1965 and was buried at the village of Bladon, within sight of the palace.
The ancient woodland supports more than 100 rare or endangered species of flora and fauna.
Roy Cox, head of rural enterprises at Blenheim Palace, said: “It has been a protected site for over 50 years but in reality those trees are only seen by one person a year asit is such a sensitive area.
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“Walking through there is like stepping back in time.”
Most of England’s ancient oaks were felled to build cathedrals and later the Georgian navy. The trees at High Park may have survived because it was a royal hunting park established by Henry I, who reigned from 1100 to 1135.