The oak tree was located in Birklands, part of Sherwood Forest that was first mentioned in 1251 and in continual ownership by the crown for 600 years.

[2][3] The site is currently in the ownership of the Forestry Commission and the Sherwood Forest Visitor Centre, run by Nottinghamshire County Council, is nearby.

It is reputed that Robin Hood used the hollow trunk of the tree as a temporary store for venison poached from the royal forest.

[3][1] An 1874 guidebook to the region mentions the tree and states that it was used formerly by a thief named Hooton to hang the carcasses of stolen sheep.

[4] Towards the end of the 19th century the tree was badly burned in a fire originating from a group of schoolgirls boiling a kettle within the hollow.