In a momentous occasion Saltash has been chosen as the site for a tree to mark the Coronation of his majesty King Charles III.

After the King’s Coronation in 2024 each Lord Lieutenant throughout the UK was gifted a tree with money left from the 2022 platinum jubilee of the late Queen Elizabeth II, to plant a tree in a location of their choice within their county.

Cornwall’s Lord Lieutenant Col Sir Edward Bolitho KCVO OBE chose Saltash and Victoria Gardens as the ideal location for the tree which was planted in a ceremony held on Tuesday, January 28.

The Lord Lieutenant was ably assisted by his leading cadet Chris Wooller for Torpoint Sea Cadets, and waterside Explorer Scout Finlay Marsh who is working to achieve his King's Scout Award.

Children from four Saltash schools also attended and helped bed in the tree with a shovel of soil each, assisted by the mayor of Saltash Cllr Julia Peggs, who said: “It’s a great honour for Saltash, as the gateway to Cornwall, to be chosen to plant the King’s tree. We are very proud to have it here.”

The King's Oak was planted in the Saltash Environmental Action flower bed in Victoria Gardens. (Picture: Cornish Times)
The King's Oak was planted in the Saltash Environmental Action flower bed in Victoria Gardens. (Picture: Cornish Times) ( )

The choice of tree as well as the eventual location was tricky the Lord Lieutenant explained: “You may say it’s been a while since the Coronation but it’s taken a bit of time to find the exact spot to plant it.

“Thank you to the town of Saltash for coming up with this excellent place to plant it.”

Addressing the school children he said: “I hope that in 100 years time, it will be as tall as that Monkey Puzzle behind it, and will still be thriving, and I hope that you young people who are here will be able to come back in 50 or 60 years time and say, I remember when that tree was just a little one and now look at it.”

Cornwall Cllr Hilary Frank (Saltash Essa) who assisted Sir Edward in the project said: “Originally we hoped to plant the tree on the roundabout at Carkeel as the Gateway to Cornwall but for various, very good reasons, we were not allowed to plant it there.

“Eventually we settled on the middle of the “SEA” bed in Victoria Gardens and Saltash Environmental Action very kindly agreed to have tree in their flower bed.

A commemorative plaque will be placed beside the tree, a King's Oak often known as a Cornish Oak. (Picture: Cornish Times)
A commemorative plaque will be placed beside the tree, a King's Oak often known as a Cornish Oak. (Picture: Cornish Times) ( )

“It’s really good that the Lord Lieutenant had one tree throughout Cornwall to plant, and he chose Saltash.”

Supplied by Barcham Trees, holder of a Royal Warrant, the aptly named King’s Oak or Quercus Petraea, also known as the Cornish oak, was chosen. In Celtic mythology it symbolises the gateway between realms, perfect for Saltash as the “Gateway to Cornwall”, Cllr added: “It symbolises the Gateway to Cornwall, the gateway between Queen Elizabeth’s reign and the King Charles’ reign.”

The final location of Victoria Gardens at the top of Fore Street in Saltash is also symbolic in its own right, she added: “These gardens were established in 1897 to commemorate Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee, further emphasising the regal gateway connection.”