Chained Oak

Legend

The legend goes that on an autumn night in 1821, Charles Talbot, the 15th Earl of Shrewsbury was returning to his home in Alton Towers when an old woman suddenly appeared in the road.
The coach stopped to find why she was there, and then the old woman begged for a coin.
The Earl cruelly dismissed her, so the old woman placed a curse on him. The old woman said, "For every branch on the Old Oak Tree here that falls, a member of the Earl’s family will die." The Earl dismissed this and carried on his way.
That night, during a violent storm a single branch from the old oak tree broke and fell. Later that same night, a member of the Earl’s family suddenly and mysteriously died. To prevent any more deaths the Earl ordered his servants to chain every branch together to prevent other branches from falling. To this day the Oak tree remains chained up. There are two versions of the tale. The Alton Towers version is that the old woman said that for every branch of the tree that fell off, a member of his household would die. That night there was a terrible storm and the tree was struck by lightning and a branch broke, at that instant a member of the Earl's family was struck stone dead.
The second version is that the Earl's son was out riding the next day and as he passed the old oak tree the woman had been standing under a branch which fell on top of him, knocking him from his horse and killing him. This story is slightly more plausible, as there are records of a riding accident around that time.
Whatever happened, the end result was still the same. The Earl, to try to protect himself from the curse, ordered that the tree be chained up, to prevent any more fatalities.
As of 9 April 2007, one of the main branches on the tree fell off. It's been confirmed by the family that no one has died since the branch fell off.
Since then, a considerable proportion of the chained oak has collapsed. It is thought that a chain, having become integral to the tree's structure, rusted through and resulted in the collapse of part of the lower side of the tree.

Location

The tree can be found in the woods near Alton Village, close to the entrance of the Alton Towers theme park. From the main entrance gates, head south towards the village, past the staff & service entrance on the left. Next on the right is a tall gate house, alongside the driveway to the eponymous Chained Oak B&B. Don't drive down this driveway, as the road is tight, there's no public parking and turning around in it is difficult. Instead, park in the layby opposite. To the left of the driveway is a gap in the stone wall, through which you'll find a well-worn pathway heading down the hill. The tree itself is about five minutes walk down this pathway, on the right with worn down steps leading up to it.

Trivia

• The ride Hex – the Legend of the Towers at the theme park Alton Towers is based on a fanciful elaboration of this legend.