The Chained Oak
The Chained Oak [ ðə tʃeɪnd əʊk ] ( English "the chained oak") is an oak near the town of Alton in Staffordshire , England , whose branches are chained to the tree trunk according to a local legend .
Legend has it that the Earl of Shrewsbury was driving back to his home in Alton on an autumn night in 1821 when an old woman came out in front of the carriage asking for alms. When the Earl dismissed the request, she uttered the following curse: For every branch that breaks from this old oak tree, a member of the Earl's family will die. That same night, a violent storm broke a branch from the tree and a family member was suddenly killed under mysterious circumstances. The earl then ordered the remaining branches of the oak to be chained together to prevent them from breaking off. The branches of the oak are chained to the trunk to this day.
The legend caught the interest of the local media when on April 9, 2007 one of the tree's main branches broke off.
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Coordinates: 52 ° 59 ′ 10.7 " N , 1 ° 53 ′ 57.3" W.