Tree

Jamestown tree

Erection date: 2/12/1987

Inscription

This oak tree, planted with soil from Jamestown, Virginia, the first permanent English settlement in the New World, commemorates the bicentenary of the constitution of the United States of America. It stands in acknowledgement that the ideals of liberty and justice embodied in the constitution trace their lineage through institutions of English law to the Magna Carta, sealed at Runnymede on June 15th 1215. Planted December 2, 1987, by John O. Marsh, Jr. Secretary of the Army of the United States of America.
The National Trust

Virginians seem keen on sending us their soil: in 1921 they gave us a statue of one of their great men, George Washington, along with some dirt on which to stand. 

Site: John F. Kennedy memorial - Runnymede (3 memorials)

SL4, Windsor Road

The two trees are down the bottom of the hill.  You see them as you walk between the JFK memorial and the Magna Carta memorial.

In May 1965 this acre of Crown land was given to the American people in perpetuity under the control and management of the Kennedy Memorial Trust. The Magna Carta connection made Runnymede particularly appropriate for the Kennedy memorial.

But prior to that relatively small gift, this whole hillside was given in 1963 by the local Council to the National Trust.  An American family gave the adjacent meadows to the National Trust in 1929 and we feel the two gifts are probably connected in some way. See Lady Fairhaven for more information.

This memorial was restored following damage caused by a bomb in a 1968 anti-Vietnam protest.

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This section lists the subjects commemorated on the memorial on this page:
Jamestown tree

Subjects commemorated i

Magna Carta

There are four surviving original copies of Magna Carta - two in the British ...

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United States constitution

This was partly based on Magna Carta.

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Jamestown Settlement

The first permanent English settlement in the Americas, and named by some as ...

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This section lists the subjects who helped to create/erect the memorial on this page:
Jamestown tree

Created by i

John Otho Marsh, Jr.

John Otho Marsh Jr. was born on 7 August 1926 in Winchester, Virginia, USA. H...

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This section lists the other memorials at the same location as the memorial on this page:
Jamestown tree

Also at this site i

John F. Kennedy memorial - Runnymede

John F. Kennedy memorial - Runnymede

Unveiled by the Queen in the presence of many members of the Kennedy family a...

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National Tree Week 1987

National Tree Week 1987

National Tree Week is an event which has been promoted by the Tree Council si...

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Nearby Memorials

Royal Canadian Air Force  - WW2 HQ, Tree, 1998

Royal Canadian Air Force - WW2 HQ, Tree, 1998

WC1, Lincoln's Inn Fields, 20 - 28

This is now a 3-part memorial: a building to the north of Lincoln's Inn Fields and, in the public gardens, a small monument and a tree, a...

1 subject commemorated, 2 creators
Grey Coat School - Rusbridge

Grey Coat School - Rusbridge

SW1, Greycoat Place, Grey Coat School

The scholars are on the central facade of the building: boy to left, girl to right, with the British Royal coat of arms between. Above th...

2 subjects commemorated, 1 creator
New River Path Canonbury gardens

New River Path Canonbury gardens

N1, Canonbury Grove / New River Path

The plaque and tree are to the right of this dumpy little round brick house which was built in the 1820's as a watchman's hut; his job be...

2 subjects commemorated
Norwood Grove tree 1 - Prince of Wales

Norwood Grove tree 1 - Prince of Wales

SW16, Norwood Grove, garden

The RHS describe this conifer as: "'Lutea' is a loosely conical tree with a rather bushy habit, the young foliage light yellow, becoming ...

1 creator
Ewan MacColl - WC1

Ewan MacColl - WC1

WC1, Russell Square

The tree is in Russell Square garden beside the path on the east side. 2015: An article in the CNJ reported on a centenary gathering at ...

1 subject commemorated, 1 creator