I wouldn’t normally stop to photograph a tree, even one as lovely as this one, but I noticed a small commemorative plaque in front of it, which made me curious. It informed me that this wasn’t just any oak, this was “The Prince of Wales Oak“, planted by the then Mayor of Bath, Thomas Barter esq, on the 10th March 1863. The Prince of Wales in 1863 was Prince Albert Edward, who would later become King Edward VII, who married Princess Alexandra of Denmark on the 10th March 1863, so I think it is safe to say that the tree was planted to commemorate the Royal wedding. The wedding was also commemorated in a painting, now in the Royal Collection, by William Powell Frith, which wouldn’t have known about if I hadn’t been researching the history of this tree! One of the most interesting fact I’ve managed to unearth about Thomas Barter esq is that, on the 19th September 1863, still in his official capacity as Mayor of Bath, met a party of Maori Chiefs from New Zealand, who were touring the United Kingdom. We know this because The Reverend William Jenkins, who travelled with the Maori party, compiled a souvenir autograph book for them, which includes Thomas Barters name [the list of other signatories can be see at www.nzpictures.co.nz]. The book also contains the name of Randle Wilbraham Falconer MD, “Senior physician Bath United Hospital and physician to the Bath Mineral Water Hospital“, so perhaps they visited one or both of these institutions. Later entries, I’ve noticed, contain comments about the visit, but the residence of Bath simply left their names. What an interesting web of stories!
The Antics Roadshow blog 