The Chained Oak is an old tree wrapped in chains to prevent its branches from falling. This is due to an alleged curse put upon the tree when, in 1821, the 15th Earl of Shrewsbury refused a woman’s pleas for money. It is said she then put a curse upon the nearby oak: For every branch that falls from the tree a member of the Earl’s family would die. Later that night, one of the Earl’s relatives died suddenly under mysterious circumstances. Convinced that the curse was true, the Earl…
