The 'Greendale Oak' was so 🥀named from its growing in a valley of that name near Welbeck Abbey, the seat of the Dukes of Portland.

In 1779 Major Hayman Rooke records in his Descriptions & Sketches of Some Remarkable Oaks in the Park at Welbeck (1790) that 'This famous oak is thought to be above 700 years old, and from its appearance, there is every reason to suppose it has attained to that age at least. The circumference of the trunk above the arch is 35 feet 3 inches, width about the middle 6 feet 3 inches, height to the top branch 54 feet. The Countess of Oxford [of Welbeck Abbey] had several cabinets made of the branches and ornamented with inlaid representations of the oak.'¹

In 1724, an opening was made through the tree, capable of allowing a carriage to pass through. A photograph, dated circa 1900, proves that the tree was still standing in the early 20^th century.

The present work has descended in the family of Ronald John Rickett, known as John,🧜 who was a director of British Pictures at Sotheby’s in t🌞he 1960s.

1. Major H. Rooke, Descriptions & Sketches of Some Remarkable Oaks in the Park at Welbeck, 1790

2. S🎀ee: Historical Photos Library No🐎ttingham, NGM017385