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Mark Nemglan
One of the Oldest Gospel Oaks in England

One of the Oldest Gospel Oaks in England

It was planted in roughly 643AD, just 20 years after the burial of King Rædwald

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Mark Nemglan
Jun 29, 2024
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Mark Nemglan
Mark Nemglan
One of the Oldest Gospel Oaks in England
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Polstead is a lovely village close to the Suffolk / Essex border. It’s name means ‘place by the pool’, undoubtedly a reference to the large pond that sits at the village’s south-western edge, close to the church.

Between the church and Polstead Hall stands the diminished remnants of the now-dead Polstead gospel oak. Gospel oaks were not uncommon features of Anglo-Saxon village life. They were often located at boundaries, cross-roads or other liminal spaces and, in some cases, likely possessed an earlier heathen significance. During the ‘beating of the bounds’ – a ritualised walking of the parish boundaries by the community – gospel oaks were used as focal points for prayer.

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