Chained Oak

The Chained Oak [ də tʃeɪnd əʊk ] (English " the Chained Oak " ) is an oak tree near the town of Alton in Staffordshire, England, whose branches are chained to the tree trunk due to a local legend.

According to legend, the Earl of Shrewsbury went back to an autumn night of 1821 at his home in Alton, as an old woman in front of the coach stepped into the street and asked for alms. When the Earl dismissed the petition, she spoke of the following curse: for every branch that breaks off from this old oak here, a member of the Earl's family will die. That same night, broke through a violent storm from a bough from the trees, and a family member took a sudden death under mysterious circumstances. Then ordered the Earl, the other branches of the oak zusammenzuketten order to keep them from breaking off. The branches of the oak are chained to this day the tribe.

The legend caught the attention of the local media, as on 9 April 2007 broke off one of the main branches of the tree.