MysteryHidden
The forest's centre elm
The forest had a heart, and it grew outside the pub.
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- What's there
- Old roadside pub
- Legend from
- Local tradition
- Tone
- Curious
A royal hunting lodge, and the elm that marked the heart of Windsor Forest.
The Stag and Hounds pub at Binfield is said to have been used as a hunting lodge by Henry VIII and Elizabeth I. An elm tree outside it was said to mark the exact centre of Windsor Forest. The stump of that elm was finally removed in 2003. Wikipedia also records an old story of uncertain origin that the abbots of Reading Abbey had a retreat at Elm Grove in Binfield, remembered in the street name Monk's Alley. No other fetched source repeats the elm tradition.
One sourceOnly one written account of this legend has been found so far.