Major Hayman Rooke became an antiquary on his retirement from the Army. The Major Oak

Major Oak

The Major Oak is a huge oak tree near the village of Edwinstowe in the heart of Sherwood Forest, Nottinghamshire, England. According to local folklore, it was Robin Hood's shelter where he and his merry men slept. It weighs an estimated 23 tons, has a girth of 33 feet , and is about 800–1000 years...

 is named after him.

Biography

Rooke was born on the 20th February 1723. After a modest military career, in which he achieved the rank of major

Major

Major is a rank of commissioned officer, with corresponding ranks existing in almost every military in the world.When used unhyphenated, in conjunction with no other indicator of rank, the term refers to the rank just senior to that of an Army captain and just below the rank of lieutenant colonel. ...

, Major Rooke retired to Mansfield Woodhouse

Mansfield Woodhouse

Mansfield Woodhouse is a large village about 2 kilometres north of Mansfield itself, in Nottinghamshire, England. With a history dating back before the Romans, it is still noteworthy for its stone built town centre...

 in Nottinghamshire

Nottinghamshire

Nottinghamshire is a county in the East Midlands of England, bordering South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west...

 and turned himself into an antiquary. He is particularly associated with Roman

Ancient Rome

Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....

 finds around Mansfield Woodhouse, but he was a pioneer 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 between 1776 and 1796. As well as the Romans he wrote about medieval churches and local great estates such as Welbeck, Bolsover

Bolsover

Bolsover is a town near Chesterfield, Derbyshire, England. It is 145 miles  from London, 18 miles  from Sheffield, 26 miles  from Nottingham and 54 miles  from Manchester. It is the main town in the Bolsover district.The civil parish for the town is called...

, Haddon Hall

Haddon Hall

Haddon Hall is an English country house on the River Wye at Bakewell, Derbyshire, one of the seats of the Duke of Rutland, occupied by Lord Edward Manners and his family. In form a medieval manor house, it has been described as "the most complete and most interesting house of [its]...

 and Thoresby

Thoresby Hall

Thoresby Hall is one of the Dukeries, four country houses and estates in north Nottinghamshire all occupied by dukes at one time in their history.-History:...

. Rooke died on the 18th September 1806 and is buried in the chancel

Chancel

In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar in the sanctuary at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building...

 of St Edmund's church in Mansfield Woodhouse.

The Major Oak

Major Oak

The Major Oak is a huge oak tree near the village of Edwinstowe in the heart of Sherwood Forest, Nottinghamshire, England. According to local folklore, it was Robin Hood's shelter where he and his merry men slept. It weighs an estimated 23 tons, has a girth of 33 feet , and is about 800–1000 years...

  is named in his honour and in recognition of his writings and love of Sherwood Forest

Sherwood Forest

Sherwood Forest is a Royal Forest in Nottinghamshire, England, that is famous through its historical association with the legend of Robin Hood. Continuously forested since the end of the Ice Age, Sherwood Forest National Nature Reserve today encompasses 423 hectares surrounding the village of...

.