Seasons1 of 4
On 30 September 1937 Bexley became a borough under this oak. Lord Cornwallis presented the charter beneath its branches in Danson Park, hence the name. The borough's coat of arms carries an oak too. Eighty years later it needed help. By 2017 the tree was visibly deteriorating, and it was given a soil treatment, decompacting the ground around its roots with a geo-injector, which by one account extended its life. Today it stands inside a fence that keeps people off the root zone, and it is seen from outside that fence. The fence has a side effect. When a Kent heritage tree survey came through in 2015, nobody could get close enough to measure the girth, so there is no published figure. The age is loose as well. The 2010 Time Out guide to the Great Trees of London says well over 200 years; a 2024 history piece says around 200. Two centuries or a little more is the honest reading. It was one of the original 41 Great Trees of London. OpenStreetMap mappers were still updating its record in April 2025, which is the most recent sign we have that it stands. If you visit, tell us how it looks. Danson Park is free and open at all times, about 20 to 25 minutes' walk from Bexleyheath or Welling station.
From people who stood here
No notes yet
Did you visit the tree? Leave a note for the next visitor.
Getting there
Danson Park, Danson Road, Bexleyheath DA6
You can recognise it by its fence, the big oak standing in its own enclosure out in the open parkland. It stands in Danson Park, Bexleyheath.
Free. Danson Park is open at all times; the oak is fenced to protect its roots and is seen from the fence.
Bexleyheath or Welling station (Southeastern), each about 20 to 25 minutes' walk to the park; buses stop at the park gates (routes not source-checked).
In fruit
The line is our estimate of how much there is to see, not a measurement. Typical for this species where this tree stands; exact weeks shift with the year.
Sources
Where the facts on this page come from. The story was written with AI from these sources, and readers who know the tree correct it.
