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when an old woman suddenly appeared in the road ahead of his horse and coach. The coach stopped to find why she was there at which point the old woman begged for a coin. The Earl cruelly dismissed her, so the old woman stated that she would place a curse on him. The old woman told the Earl that for
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The 15th and 16th Earls of
Shrewsbury built and then extended Alton Towers and its gardens. During their tenure, thousands of new trees were planted, but the old trees were "greatly prized". The Chained Oak was situated in a highly visible position, "just off a carriage-way" frequently used by the
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A second version is that instead of a storm bringing down a branch, 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
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Since then, a considerable proportion of the chained oak has collapsed. It is thought that one of the chains, having become integral to the tree's structure, rusted through resulting in the collapse of part of the lower side of the tree.
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Now firmly believing in the power of the curse, the Earl is said to have ordered his servants to chain every remaining branch together to prevent them from falling. To this day, the Oak tree remains chained up.
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in Rome. Three of
Gwendoline's children died of measles shortly after their mother, meaning the Earl had four deaths in his close family, not the single one described in the legend.
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That same night, a violent storm caused a single branch from the old oak tree to break and fall. Later that evening, a member of the Earl’s family suddenly and mysteriously died.
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The 16th Earl is remembered as "Good Earl John" for his charity, having supported local schools and churches, and financed the construction of new
Catholic chapels around
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theme park states the Earl brought the fallen branch back to his home, where he performed experiments in his vault in an attempt to break the curse.
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every branch on the Old Oak Tree that fell, a member of the Earl’s family would die. The Earl refused to listen and continued on his way.
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Earls. As such, the tree may have been wrapped in chains simply to preserve it, and prevent it from collapsing under its own weight.
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BBC Stoke and
Staffordshire date the legend as from 1821, which would identify the earl as Charles Talbot, 15th Earl of Shrewsbury.
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On 9 April 2007, one of the tree's main branches fell off. The Talbot family confirmed that no one died when the branch fell.
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where he also built almshouses for the poor and elderly. His reputation does not seem to fit that of the Earl in the legend.
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Country music singer Rob
Wheeler released a song called “The Chained Oak” based on the legend, on a Halloween themed EP.
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Alton Towers
Heritage state the chaining occurred "around the 1840s", which would identify the earl as
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Various dates are attributed to the legend of the chained oak, affecting the identity of "The Earl".
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and an old beggar woman. It is located on a public footpath to the left of the
Chained Oak B&B.
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The legend states a member of the Earl's family (sometimes quoted as his son) suddenly died.
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The 16th Earl's only son died in infancy and not around the date cited for the legend.
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The legend was adapted and fancifully elaborated to form the back-story for the ride
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In 2020, the
Chained Oak was nominated for the Woodland Trust's Tree of the Year.
318:"The Tragic Destiny of the British Aristocrat known as Rome's Mother of the Poor"
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The third version of the story, which was invented for the theme park attraction
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There are slight variations in the story, however the core remains the same.
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One version states it was an old man who cursed the earl, not a woman.
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An independent horror film based on the legend was released in 2014.
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theme park. The ride tells the tale of the old oak tree.
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379:BBC Article on the legend of the Chained Oak
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215:Chained Oak nominated for Tree of the Year
248:. 28 August 2014. Retrieved 1 April 2014.
221:. 26 August 2020. Retrieved 1 April 2024.
283:Steve Hollyman and Gary Kelsall (2008).
287:. Alton Towers Heritage. Archived from
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285:"The Legend of the Chained Oak"
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120:Hex – the Legend of the Towers
60:Hex – the Legend of the Towers
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262:The legend of the Chained Oak
84:was returning to his home at
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431:History of Staffordshire
80:On an autumn night, the
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402:52.986761°N 1.901769°W
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194:Rational explanations
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316:Kohn, Marc-Arthur.
357:on 29 October 2013
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29:Chained Oak
420:Categories
390:52°59′12″N
361:25 October
334:25 October
295:2012-06-19
203:References
103:Variations
393:1°54′06″W
260:Sam Hale
246:RideRater
219:RideRater
45:England
426:Curses
171:Deaths
76:Legend
49:legend
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