WE HAVE another short story today which is so surreal, one could be forgiven for believing it to be folklore, but this story is certainly a rather interesting one.

Who knew a tree could be knocked over by wind and then upright itself?

It was on the September 10, 1816, that the town was overwhelmed by a south-west wind.

This great poplar tree fell victim to the wind and fell right across a road, blocking it completely.

This road would eventually become Lower Brook Street and Victoria Road.

The road was one of the major points of entry and exit for the Burgesses of Oswestry, and would see people walking it daily, along with horses and carriages who would use it on a regular basis.

As the tree was now blocking the road, the Burgesses began to panic.

Relief soon came as men with axes were sent for to chop the tree up and clear the road.

Any tree surgeon would tell you that the first thing to do is to remove the head, so they began chopping and sawing away at the uppermost branches.

Once the branches were removed and the trunk was finally severed from the great hole that had formed where the tree once stood, the tree began to move.

The branches must have been acting as a dead weight for the tree, as the tree erected itself back into the ground.

Once the workmen and other onlooking Burgesses timidly retreated from their places of safety, they examined the tree and found there was very little marks or damage to the base of the trunk.

Anyone would think this whole incident never happened in the first place.

This certainly is a tale of when Mother Nature got her own back on the human race.

The Burgesses began to treat the tree with respect, passing the tree gingerly from that day on.

The tree lived a long and happy life until buildings were constructed throughout Victoria Road and the road became urbanised.

Sources:

Oswestory [Page 8], by The Moving Finger collaborative (2002)