The Cheapside Plane

This page is awaiting curation. Facts have been researched and cross-referenced, but the final human review is still in progress.
Species
London Plane (Platanus x acerifolia)
Age estimate
250+ years
Location
Corner of Wood Street and Cheapside, City of London, EC2V 8AA (City of London)
Access
Free, public square, City of London
Getting there
2 min walk from St Paul's tube station

The only Great Tree of London in the Square Mile. It grows in what was the churchyard of St Peter Cheap, a church destroyed in the Great Fire of 1666 and never rebuilt. No one knows exactly how old it is. By 1853, a cab company was advertising its location as 'Under the tree, Cheapside.' In 1901 it was called the most valuable tree in the world. It survived the Blitz. Buildings beside it are prohibited from rising above two storeys by the terms of their leases, preserving its canopy. Wordsworth likely had it in mind in his 1800 poem Poor Susan.

Take me there

Opens directions in your maps app. 2 min walk from St Paul's tube station

Trees nearby

Curious what else is standing in London? See all 10 remarkable ancient trees in London or find out what the oldest tree in London is. It is a London Plane; see every london plane on the site.

Something wrong on this page, or do you have an openly licensed photo of this tree? Tell us. Corrections are checked and credited.