The Fuck Tree is a
sessile oak
''Quercus petraea'', commonly known as the sessile oak, Welsh oak, Cornish oak, Irish oak or durmast oak, is a species of oak tree native to most of Europe and into Anatolia and Iran. The sessile oak is the national tree of Ireland, and an unof ...
tree
on West Heath on
Hampstead Heath
Hampstead Heath is an ancient heath in London, spanning . This grassy public space sits astride a sandy ridge, one of the highest points in London, running from Hampstead to Highgate, which rests on a band of London Clay. The heath is rambling ...
in north London. It is located in an established
gay cruising area. It is noted for its prostrate trunk which facilitates
gay sex
Sexual activities involving men who have sex with men (MSM), regardless of their sexual orientation, can include anal sex, non-penetrative sex, and oral sex. Evidence shows that sex between men is significantly underreported in surveys.
Beha ...
.
History
In 2025, an article in the ''
Daily Telegraph
''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a British daily broadsheet conservative newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed in the United Kingdom and internationally. It was foun ...
'' said that the Heath has been used for cruising since
Victorian times
In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the reign of Queen Victoria, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. Slightly different definitions are sometimes used. The era followed th ...
.
Bron Maher visited the tree in October 2023 for ''The Fence'', a British satirical magazine.
He described the tree as having managed to "elude public consciousness" and described it as "... poetically perfect for its role. The roots of the tree splay out like a hand clutching a bed sheet; the trunk is prone and abdomen-high, its belly flat to the Heath floor before making an abrupt 45-degree lift toward the canopy. This tree, I tell you, has a slutty little back arch".
[ The tree was described in ]Armistead Maupin
Armistead Jones Maupin, Jr. ( ; born May 13, 1944) is an American writer notable for '' Tales of the City'', a series of novels set in San Francisco.
Early life
Maupin was born in Washington, D.C., to Diana Jane (Barton) and Armistead Jones Maup ...
's 2024 novel '' Mona of the Manor''. The character Wilfred visits the tree while cruising for sex. Maupin writes that the Fuck Tree "stood in a clearing bordered by dark thickets on all sides. The trunk of the tree swooped so low to the ground that it became a chaise against which you could lean for wanking or bend over to be fucked".ACT UP
AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power (ACT UP) is an international, grassroots political group working to end the AIDS pandemic. The group works to improve the lives of people with AIDS through direct action, medical research, treatment and advocacy, ...
protest against anti-cruising notices in West Heath included a sign that said "take me to the fuck tree".[
]
In art
The 2017 art film
An art film, arthouse film, or specialty film is an independent film aimed at a niche market rather than a mass market audience. It is "intended to be a serious, artistic work, often experimental and not designed for mass appeal", "made prima ...
''Fuck Tree'' by performance artist Liz Rosenfeld was created as a portrait of the Fuck Tree and as a response to the 1989 film ''Sodom'' by Luther Price.Gasworks Gallery
Gasworks is a contemporary art organisation based near The Oval cricket ground in Kennington, South East London, which comprises a gallery and 13 artist studios as well offering residencies, international fellowships and educational projects ...
in Kennington.[
]
See also
* List of individual trees
The following is a list of individual trees. Trees listed here are regarded as important or specific by their historical, national, locational, natural or mythological context. The list includes actual trees located throughout the world, as we ...
* Great Trees of London
Great Trees of London is a list created by Trees for Cities after the Great Storm of 1987, when the general public were asked to suggest suitable trees. Forty-one were chosen, with a further 20 added in 2008. In 2010, '' Time Out'' Guides Limi ...
References
External links
ACT UP London – The Sodomites Walk 2025
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fuck Tree, The
Environment of London
Gay culture in the United Kingdom
Hampstead
Individual trees in England
Individual oak trees