Friday Photo: The Selly Oak Stump

In today’s Friday photo this overgrown flowerbed hides a secret. Concealed underneath is the stump of the oak tree that was removed from the junction of the Bristol Road and Oak Tree Lane in 1909. At the time they believed that it was this great oak that had given Selly Oak it’s name, and so retained and displayed the stump in Selly Oak park (where it still resides) with its own plaque. The local landmark was removed from the roadside due to it becoming a hazard to both road users and pedestrians having originally been planted sometime around 1720. There is more information about the oak tree featured on a board put together by The Friends of Selly Oak park within the park grounds.