# Hayman Rooke

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{{Short description|English television presenter (born 1976)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2024}}
{{Use British English|date=November 2013}}
{{Infobox person
| name               = Major Hayman Rooke
| image              = The Major Oak - geograph.org.uk - 1691865.jpg
| caption            = [Major Oak](/source/Major_Oak)
| birth_date         = 20 February 1723
| death_date         = 18 September 1806
| birth_place        = [City of Westminster](/source/City_of_Westminster), England
| occupation         = [Former British Soldier](/source/British_Army) and [Antiquarian](/source/Antiquarian)
}}

Major '''Hayman Rooke''' (1723–1806) was an English [antiquarian](/source/antiquarian) and [British Army](/source/British_Army) soldier who discovered the [Major Oak tree](/source/Major_Oak) in [Sherwood Forest](/source/Sherwood_Forest) and two [Roman Villa](/source/Roman_Villa)s near [Mansfield Woodhouse](/source/Mansfield_Woodhouse), [Nottinghamshire](/source/Nottinghamshire). The [Major Oak](/source/Major_Oak) is named after him.<ref> Robert White, Worksop, The Dukery, and Sherwood Forest, (1875)|retrieved on 3 May 2025</ref>

==Biography==
Hayman Rooke was born on 20 February 1723 and baptised at [St Martin-in-the-Fields](/source/St_Martin-in-the-Fields) in [City of Westminster](/source/City_of_Westminster) on 19 March of the same year.<ref name="day">[http://www.majoroak.org.uk/main/february20th.htm Major Oak Day], accessed October 2011</ref>  

After a modest military career, in which he achieved the rank of [major](/source/Major_(United_Kingdom)) in the [30th Regiment of Foot](/source/30th_Regiment_of_Foot), Hayman Rooke retired to [Mansfield Woodhouse](/source/Mansfield_Woodhouse) in [Nottinghamshire](/source/Nottinghamshire) and turned himself into an [antiquary](/source/antiquary). He is particularly associated with [Roman](/source/Ancient_Rome) finds around Mansfield Woodhouse, but he was a pioneer [archaeologist](/source/archaeologist) within the county of Nottinghamshire. Despite having no formal training, he was well versed in a range of archaeological fields, and a frequent contributor to the journal ''[Archaeologia](/source/Archaeologia_(London))'' between 1776 and 1796. He wrote about the Romans as well as writing about [medieval](/source/medieval) churches and local great estates such as [Welbeck](/source/Welbeck_Abbey), [Bolsover](/source/Bolsover), [Haddon Hall](/source/Haddon_Hall) and [Thoresby](/source/Thoresby_Hall).<ref>Cite Web: https://visitsherwood.co.uk/celebrating-the-man-who-made-the-major-oak/|Visit Sherwood Forest|THE MAN WHO ‘MADE’ THE MAJOR OAK|2023|retrieved on 3 May 2025</ref>

thumb|An oak tree discovered by Hayman Rooke 

Hayman Rooke died on 18 September 1806 and is buried in the [chancel](/source/chancel) of the [Church of St Edmund, Mansfield Woodhouse](/source/Church_of_St_Edmund%2C_Mansfield_Woodhouse).<ref name="day"/> The [Major Oak](/source/Major_Oak) is named in his honour and in recognition of his writings and love of [Sherwood Forest](/source/Sherwood_Forest).

[[File:Trees called The Porters by Hayman Rooke 1790.jpg|thumb|"Two large trees in [Welbeck Park](/source/Welbeck_Abbey) called the Porters" by Hayman Rooke, engraved by W. Ellis, 1790]]

Hayman Rooke was a [magistrate](/source/magistrate) and [deputy lieutenant](/source/deputy_lieutenant) for Nottinghamshire. His former residence, ''Woodhouse Place'' in Mansfield Woodhouse received a [blue plaque](/source/blue_plaque) in 2015.<ref>The Major Oak man gets dedicated plaque, ''Chad'' (Mansfield local newspaper), 4 November 2015, p.23. Accessed 12 October 2020</ref>

thumb|Woodhouse Place, the former home of Hayman Rooke with the blue plaque to the right hand side

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Hayman Rooke}}
[http://www.majoroak.org.uk/main/february20th.htm  Hayman Rooke and Major Oak Day]

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rooke, Hayman}}
Category:1723 births
Category:1806 deaths
Category:18th-century English people
Category:People from Westminster
Category:English antiquarians
Category:30th Regiment of Foot officers
Category:People from Mansfield Woodhouse
Category:18th-century British Army personnel

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Hayman Rooke](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hayman_Rooke) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hayman_Rooke?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.