The Jubilee Oak Table – Annika Perry

"My photo of the Jubilee Oak Table in Ely Cathedral. It is taken from one end and one can see the full length down. At the furthest end a group of visitors are gathered, touching the table, peering underneath, reading information leaflets. The table is set in the expanse of the cathedral with lofty stone arches all around."

HOMAGE (to an old Oak)

Beneath God’s arches resides the travelling table,
Its glistening onyx boards a contradiction.

After all, it should not be here,
how is it possible
after its 5000-year journey?

One fair day as the Stone Age drew to a close
an acorn took root amongst the giant oak forests
in the East Anglian Fenlands.

As the moon cast its ethereal light
upon the monumental 60-metre trees
the sapling flourished.

It joined the canopies of the other oaks
Shrouding the people beneath
Protecting, becoming part of their landscape.

This, the Jubilee Oak, was indestructible.
Until the world altered.
Until the sea levels rose.
Roots loosened, it crashed
To its airless grave.

Untouched for five millennia
Resting in the pitch black of peat
A preserver.
Untouched until the 21st Century,
When at last
Unearthed!

Fourteen metres of black oak
released from its shroud of earth
Fourteen metres of jet-black oak trunk
Survived, intact.

The magical fusion of the ground’s iron and
the tree’s tannins
creating the black in the oak
ensuring this holy grail of wood.

Experts consulted, advised and directed,
a sawmill from Canada flew to help
To saw on site
Ten perfect consecutive boards.

With the craft of carpentry
the combination of skill and passion
the unity of artistry and knowledge
ALL paid HOMAGE to the beloved Oak Tree

A table designed, boards planed and dried.
The Table for the Nation completed.

In majesty, it resides beneath God’s arches.

Now it is time to pay OUR respects.

In reverential silence, visitors gaze upon the table,
making a pilgrimage along its length
Then back up on the other side.

Fingers caressing the boards, eyes admiring the sheen
of darkness. A play of light and dark,
An incongruous anomaly in reality.

Now and then people bend down,
Admiring the copper sheath below,
Then up they appear,
once again walking along
tracing the winding mysterious curves of the boards

Sweeping curves mirroring
the expansive Fenland Landscape,
as sweeping as the sea that failed to devour it.

The black oak
Present
In all its glory.

"A close-up of the table showing the beautiful patina of the wood."

Note: The above post was inspired by a visit to view the Jubilee Oak tree while it was in residency at Ely Cathedral, Cambridgeshire, UK. (It is currently at Rochester Cathedral, Kent.) The table was unveiled in honour of HM Queen Elizabeth II in 2022, the year of the Platinum Jubilee and hence its name.

The ancient oak trees grew to a height of 60 metres (197 feet) and dwarf oaks of today whose average height is about 20 metres (65 feet).

Read more about The Fenland Black Oak Project here.