A stunning 13-metre-long table, made from ancient, fossilised oak will be on display in Lincoln Cathedral from April.
Created from a section of the nation’s most significant tree, a gigantic 5000-year-old Fenland Black Oak, the table is a masterpiece of craftsmanship. The Table for the Nation will be installed on St George’s day, before being opened to visitors from Wednesday 24 April. It will remain in residency at Lincoln Cathedral for a year.
In 2012, the year of Queen Elizabeth II’s Diamond Jubilee, an exceptionally well-preserved section of black oak was found in a field in Norfolk – this became known as the Jubilee Oak. It is thought that the tree would have originally stood more than 55 metres tall, before falling into the peat where it lay undisturbed for 5,000 years.
The Fenland Black Oak project, led by Hamish Low, carefully dried and processed the valuable wood and worked with designers to find the best way to preserve this rare discovery. The chose a table as it allowed the wood to be kept at its full length, and to be viewed in all its glory.
The table’s residency is part of ‘Our World; God’s Creation’ – Lincoln Cathedral’s year-long celebration of sustainability, communities and the environment.
Samantha Mellows, Director of Visitor Experience and Enterprise at Lincoln Cathedral said that the table was a unique and inspiring mix of the symbolic and the practical. “A table is an object familiar to everyone, where people come together daily to eat, have conversations and to play games or do work. But throughout our culture tables have a deeper significance – they are places where people come together to find common ground or share ideas. Here in the Cathedral we hold communion every day – a time where people gather as one, and share in the breaking of bread and the drinking of wine, as we have done for generations.
“The Table for the Nation is a celebration of the skilled craft people that have created it, a tangible piece of ancient history that visitors can touch, and an invitation for everyone to come together and spend time with others.
“I hope that over the next 12 months, many people will come together around the table to share food, stories, conversations and experiences, and that we will all come away enriched by what we have learned, the people that we have met and the sense of community that we have created.”
Visitors will be able to discover more about the table from the information panels accompanying it, but is not just an object to be looked at and admired. The table has been designed to be used and it will be the focal point for a number of events and activities throughout its year at Lincoln Cathedral. Some will be run by the Cathedral, and charities, businesses and community groups are encouraged to contact the cathedral if they would like to hire the table to run their own activities. As new activities are added they will be found on the Cathedral’s website at www.lincolncathedral.com/table.
As well as hosting and attending events, there are other opportunities for people and businesses to support the table’s residency in Lincoln. There is an opportunity to sponsor a ‘seat at the table’ for £65. Donors will receive a personalised name card, early notification of activities taking place and an invitation to the launch evening on Tuesday 23 April.
Anyone interested in sponsoring a seat at the table, or booking an event at the table is encouraged to get in touch with Samantha on samantha.mellows@lincolncathedral.com
