Major Hayman Rooke (1723–1806) was an English

antiquarian An antiquarian or antiquary () is an aficionado or student of antiquities or things of the past. More specifically, the term is used for those who study history with particular attention to ancient artefacts, archaeological and historic si ...

and

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

soldier who discovered the Major Oak tree in

Sherwood Forest Sherwood Forest is the remnants of an ancient royal forest, Royal Forest in Nottinghamshire, within the East Midlands region in England. It has association with the legend of Robin Hood. The forest was proclaimed by William the Conqueror and ...

and two

Roman Villa A Roman villa was typically a farmhouse or country house in the territory of the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire, sometimes reaching extravagant proportions. Nevertheless, the term "Roman villa" generally covers buildings with the common ...

s near

Mansfield Woodhouse Mansfield Woodhouse is a town and civil parish in the Mansfield District, Mansfield district of Nottinghamshire, England. It is about north of Mansfield, along the main A60 road in a wide, low valley between the Rivers River Maun, Maun and Rive ...

Nottinghamshire Nottinghamshire (; abbreviated ''Notts.'') is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. The county is bordered by South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west. Th ...

. The Major Oak is named after him.

Biography

Hayman Rooke was born on 20 February 1723 and baptised at

St Martin-in-the-Fields St Martin-in-the-Fields is a Church of England parish church at the north-east corner of Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, London. Dedicated to Saint Martin of Tours, there has been a church on the site since at least the medieval pe ...

City of Westminster The City of Westminster is a London borough with City status in the United Kingdom, city status in Greater London, England. It is the site of the United Kingdom's Houses of Parliament and much of the British government. It contains a large par ...

on 19 March of the same year.Major Oak Day
accessed October 2011 After a modest military career, in which he achieved the rank of

major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

in the 30th Regiment of Foot, Hayman Rooke retired to

and turned himself into an

antiquary An antiquarian or antiquary () is an aficionado or student of antiquities or things of the past. More specifically, the term is used for those who study history with particular attention to ancient artefacts, archaeological and historic sit ...

. He is particularly associated with

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

finds around Mansfield Woodhouse, but he was a pioneer

archaeologist Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of Artifact (archaeology), artifacts, architecture, biofact (archaeology), biofacts or ecofacts, ...

within the county of Nottinghamshire. Despite having no formal training, he was well versed in a range of archaeological fields, and a frequent contributor to the journal '' Archaeologia'' between 1776 and 1796. He wrote about the Romans as well as writing about

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with the fall of the West ...

churches and local great estates such as

Welbeck Welbeck is a village and former civil parish (now in the parish of Norton, Cuckney, Holbeck and Welbeck) within the Welbeck local voting ward of Bassetlaw District Council, in Nottinghamshire, England. It is slightly to the south-west of Work ...

Bolsover Bolsover is a market town and the administrative centre of the Bolsover District, Derbyshire, England. It is from Sheffield, from Nottingham and from Derby. It is the main town in the Bolsover district. The civil parish for the town is c ...

Haddon Hall Haddon Hall is an English country house on the River Wye, Derbyshire, River Wye near Bakewell, Derbyshire, a former seat of the Duke of Rutland, Dukes of Rutland. It is the home of Lord Edward Manners (brother of David Manners, 11th Duke of Rut ...

and Thoresby. An oak tree discovered by Hayman Rooke Hayman Rooke died on 18 September 1806 and is buried in the

chancel In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar, including the Choir (architecture), choir and the sanctuary (sometimes called the presbytery), at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may termi ...

of the Church of St Edmund, Mansfield Woodhouse. The Major Oak is named in his honour and in recognition of his writings and love of

Trees called The Porters by Hayman Rooke 1790

Hayman Rooke was a

magistrate The term magistrate is used in a variety of systems of governments and laws to refer to a civilian officer who administers the law. In ancient Rome, a '' magistratus'' was one of the highest ranking government officers, and possessed both judi ...

and deputy lieutenant for Nottinghamshire. His former residence, ''Woodhouse Place'' in Mansfield Woodhouse received a

blue plaque A blue plaque is a permanent sign installed in a public place in the United Kingdom, and certain other countries and territories, to commemorate a link between that location and a famous person, event, or former building on the site, serving a ...

in 2015.The Major Oak man gets dedicated plaque, ''Chad'' (Mansfield local newspaper), 4 November 2015, p.23. Accessed 12 October 2020 Woodhouse Place, the former home of Hayman Rooke with the blue plaque to the right hand side

References

External links

Hayman Rooke and Major Oak Day
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rooke, Hayman 1723 births 1806 deaths 18th-century English people People from Westminster English antiquarians 30th Regiment of Foot officers People from Mansfield Woodhouse 18th-century British Army personnel