The Fenland
Black Oak Project
A T A B L E F O R T H E N A T I O N
We’re on the move to Lincoln
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We’re on the move to Lincoln —
A spectacular 13 metre long table created from a 5000 year old Fenland Black Oak. Now in residency at Rochester Cathedral.
The story of the Fenland Black Oak Table begins 5,000 years ago when an incredible high forest of gigantic oak trees once stood, deep within the Fenland Basin of ancient East Anglia. Over time, and with a rise in sea levels, these spectacular trees fell into the silt of the flooded forest floor. There they lay unseen and undisturbed, preserved in the peat for five millennia. Until now...
We leap forward to spring 2012, and to an amazing discovery. During routine cultivations on a farm in the Wissington Fens of south-west Norfolk, an incredible 13.2 metre section of one of the greatest of these buried giants was unearthed.
Against all odds, specialist craftspeople successfully milled and dried the Black Oak, preserving its beauty and remarkable length in perpetuity.
The planks from the Black Oak have been used to create a unique ‘Table for the Nation’ which we hope will become part of our national heritage. We are honoured the table is to spend a year on public display at Rochester Cathedral. Your table awaits.
