2-982-482 - The Print Collector/Heritage Images

Trunk of an Aged Sycamore in the Temple Gardens, [London], 1858. 'The old Tree is still an object of great attraction. It is the trunk of a sycamore which died about ten years since, and is now protected by an iron railing. This venerable tree marks the site of the old Thames wall, on which it was planted, or rather growing, in the reign of James II.; and here under its shade, on what was then the margin of the river, Doctor Johnson, Oliver Goldsmith, and their companions used to sit for hours in the summer months'. From "Illustrated London News", 1858.