Wallace Oak (Port Glasgow) facts for kids

The Wallace Oak was a famous tree in Port Glasgow, Scotland. It's connected to a popular legend about William Wallace, a Scottish hero who fought for Scotland's freedom. The story says he was chained to this tree around 1304 or 1305 after being captured by English soldiers. The tree started to get old and weak by the 1700s. People tried to help it by putting tar on it. Chains were also added to support its branches. Some believe these chains might be why the legend of Wallace being chained there began. The tree fell during a big storm in 1995. However, some parts of its wood have been saved. In 2019, there was a plan to build a monument to remember this special tree.

The Wallace Oak and William Wallace

The Wallace Oak stood near where the Holy Family Roman Catholic Church is today in Port Glasgow. This tree is famous because of a legend linked to William Wallace. He was a Scottish leader who fought for his country's independence from England.

Historian David R. Ross wrote in 1998 that Wallace was captured near Glasgow. He was then brought across the River Clyde by ferry to Port Glasgow. The legend says Wallace was held in the village for a while. During this time, soldiers gathered to take him to London for trial. It is believed that Wallace was chained to the oak tree during this wait.

There isn't much clear information about where Wallace was between late 1304 and his death in August 1305. Because of this, many legends have grown over time. The story of the Wallace Oak in Port Glasgow is one of the oldest and most well-known. The chains were supposedly left on the tree even after Wallace was taken away. Local children would reportedly paint these chains red every year. This was to remember the blood Wallace shed fighting for Scotland's freedom. The chains were replaced whenever they rusted away.

Another version of the story says that Wallace escaped from English soldiers who had trapped him. He then supposedly fled to Port Glasgow. To avoid being caught, he is said to have hidden in the branches of the Wallace Oak.

The Tree's Later Years

By 1768, the Wallace Oak was starting to decay. William Cunningham, 13th Earl of Glencairn, ordered the damaged parts to be cut away. He then had boiling tar poured into the wound to protect it. Cunningham is also said to have added chains to the tree. These chains were meant to make its branches stronger. This might be the real reason for the legend of Wallace being chained there. As the tree grew, some of these chains became covered by the wood. Some parts of the surviving chain have been tested. They show that they were made in the late 1800s or early 1900s.

In 1962, the Greenock Telegraph newspaper wrote an article about efforts to save the tree. Despite these attempts, the tree fell during a storm in 1995. Some of its remains were taken to a nearby yard for safekeeping. Other parts were left where they fell. Scientists studied some of the wood by looking at its tree rings. This method, called dendrochronology, showed that a piece of timber was from 1786. This piece was likely from about 2 meters above the ground. This means that part of the tree started growing around 1762. It's possible this was new growth after Cunningham's help in 1768. Older parts of the trunk could not be studied, but they might have been hundreds of years older.

In October 2019, a plan was submitted to build a monument to the oak tree. It would be placed in the church grounds. The monument was designed to look like a split tree trunk made of granite. It would have a metal chain wrapped around its base.