GREAT BRITISH TREE BIOGRAPHY

The Glastonbury Hawthorn is said to flower on Christmas Day, and descend from an original thorn planted on the grounds by Joseph of Arimethea. Oswald's Tree is where the dismembered body of Oswald, the Christian King of Northumbria, was hung by Penda, pagan King of Mercia, as a warning to others - and from which the town of Oswestry takes its name. From the tree under which the first trade union was formed to the branches from which outlaws were hanged, this collection features stories behind 50 trees in British history.