Bog Oak is the term given to native timber that has been preserved in wetlands for several millennia.

Usually when we talk about natural materials that have been preserved for so long, we mean fossils, bones, shells, leaves etc that have been turned to stone but bog oaks are not like stone; in fact they're not like anything else at all, bog oak is a unique material with unique properties.

A Little Bit of History

In the distant past, the British Isles were part of the continental land mass and the rivers of eastern England were tributaries of the River Rhine. Around 12,000 years ago, during the Ice Ages, the Artic ice caps spread southwards as far as the Thames Valley.

Around 10,000 years ago, the Ice began to melt flooding low-lying areas of land and creating freshwater lakes and swamps.

For the next four thousand or so years, these neolithic wetlands teemed with plant life. Great Oak forests evolved between the lakes and over time fallen trees and vegetation composted down to form nutrient rich soils. Some of the trees and branches would have fallen into the lakes and ponds and sunk to the bottom. In these dark, airless conditions the timbers were preserved for all time.

From time to time, the preserved timbers reach the earth's surface like spirits from the past to remind us of what was once here. These are English Bog Oaks. Each one unique, individual and impossible to reproduce. Click Here to visit our bog oak gallery