A recent walk in Wistow

18th October 2025 | Local History
Three trees

Between the Church and the Grand Union canal you come across a field where the above three oak trees stand. They are now 20 years old. They were planted in late 2005 to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Trafalgar on 21 October 1805.

The British Fleet was under the command of Admiral Lord Nelson. They defeated the combined fleets of France and Spain to prevent the invasion of Britain.

Thomas Fremantle was captain of ‘Neptune’ which after the battle towed Nelson’s battered flagship ‘Victory’ (with Nelson’s body on board) into Gibraltar.

The planting of these three oaks was the joint initiative of the Leicestershire branch of the International Tree Federation, the Royal Society of St George and descendants of the Fremantle family who live at Wistow.

Please note: 6,000 oak trees were required to build one ship of the line.