Black oak is by far the nationÂ’s most ancient, rarest and valuable native hardwood and at over 13 metres long, the Jubilee Oak is a giant amongst giants.
It was immediately recognised there was a need to preserve such a rare discovery. With no budget and against all the odds companies were approached to support this unique project. A vast sawmill was flown over from Canada and, astonishingly, the tree produced 10 magnificent sequential boards unlike anything seen before.
The boards were transported to the Building Crafts College in Stratford, East London, where a specifically designed 14 metre drying kiln had been constructed. Nine months later 397 gallons of water had been extracted, the boardsÂ’ weight had been reduced by 1.6 tons and ten breathtakingly beautiful flat and true sequential boards of 13.2 metre long appeared.
This was a unique creative opportunity and a team of dedicated craftspeople decided to try and preserve the full length of this exceptional Fenland giant for the nation by creating an iconic table.