[1][2] It was already ancient when Alexander Hunter, in his 1776 edition of John Evelyn's Sylva, wrote of it, "The dimensions are almost incredible...

The foliage is extremely thin, so that the anatomy of the ancient branches may be distinctly seen in the height of summer.

[3][2][4] Cowthorpe's St Michael's Church was constructed nearby and a public house was named Ye Old Oak Inn after the tree.

[1] The tree's leading branch fell in 1718 and was found to be 2 feet (0.61 m) thick and to weigh 5 long tons (5.1 t).

[2][5] The hollow trunk was said to be large enough to hold 70 people, if children were carried on the adults' shoulders.