Tortworth Chestnut

View of an ancient chestnut with a remarkably wide trunk, visited by a wandering deer. This tree is described as follows by the author:

This venerable tree is probably the largest, as well as the oldest, now standing in England. It is brought forward in evidence by Dr. Ducarel, in his contest with Daines Barrington, respecting the Chestnut being a native of Britain, as a proof that it is indigenous. In the reign of Stephen, who ascended the throne in 1135, it was deemed so remarkable for its size, that, as appears upon record, it was well known as a signal boundary to the manor of Tortworth, in Gloucestershire, where it stands, and is mentioned as such by Evelyn, in his " Sylva." At the time that it was thus conspicuous for its magnitude and vigor, we may reasonably suppose it to have been in its prime; if, therefore, we pay any regard to the received opinion which is applied to the Chesnut, equally with the Oak, that it is three hundred years in coming to perfection, this calculation takes us back to the beginning of the reign of Egbert, in the year 800, for the commencement of the existence of the Tortworth Chesnut. Since that epoch above a thousand years have rolled over its yet green head... and, if we judge from the luxuriance of its foliage, and the vigor of the branches which encircle the parent stem in wild profusion, may be prolonged for as many more centuries as it has already stood. Nor is it solitary in its old age. Its progeny rises around it, and its venerable roots are nearly hidden by the lighter saplings and bushes that have sought the protection of its boughs, making it appear a grove in itself .