Remains of William Wallace tree given new home in castle
The remains of an oak to which Sir William Wallace is said to have been chained before he was taken to London in 1305 have been given a permanent home in a Scots castle – 30 years after the tree fell in a storm. The Wallace Oak was a landmark in Port Glasgow, Inverclyde, where the medieval freedom fighter was held briefly following his capture in August 1305.
Known as “the tree where Wallace bled”, the ancient oak toppled during stormy weather in 1992.
A large section of the trunk, salvaged and kept safely in storage for 30 years, is now in a vaulted room at Hunterston Castle in West Kilbride. Members of the Wallace Oak Project worked to find a permanent home for the artefact.
Dendrochronologists said the oak tree “could have been a decent size at the time of William Wallace’s capture”. Cha Halliday, a member of the Society of William Wallace, said: “For hundreds of years, people preserved the oak when other trees around it were being cut down. They kept its story alive.”