Rochester Cathedral: Table made from ancient tree goes on display

Princess Anne admired the ancient table at Ely Cathedral in May 2022

A table made from a 5,000-year-old fossilised oak tree has gone on display at Rochester Cathedral.

The table, which is 13m (43ft) long, went on show on Friday after being transported from Ely Cathedral and will stay in Rochester for a year.

The black oak tree from which it was made was found buried and preserved in a field in Norfolk in 2012.

A cathedral spokesperson described the table as "an amazing piece of craftsmanship".

The trunk of a giant Fenland black oak was found buried in farmland in Norfolk in 2012

The trunk of the giant Fenland black oak, or bog oak, was found buried in farmland near Downham Market in 2012.

Specialists spent 10 years crafting the piece of furniture, which can seat 50 people.

The table went on display in Ely Cathedral in May 2022 in honour of the late Queen's Platinum Jubilee.

It was unveiled by The Princess Royal.

It was transported to Rochester on an articulated lorry from Cambridgeshire on Thursday for its second residency.

The piece of furniture is made from one of the UK's "rarest and most precious" hardwoods, a cathedral spokesman said.

Dr Philip Hesketh, Dean of Rochester Cathedral, said: "We feel so very privileged to be hosting this remarkable table in the cathedral.

"It is an amazing piece of craftsmanship which brings to life a distant part of our past when trees were towering giants."

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