Bowthorpe Oak in Bourne shortlisted for tree of the year

The 1,000-year-old tree stands in a field at Manthorpe and its hollow trunk has been used for parties.

It is claimed that three dozen people once managed to stand inside it.

Other shortlisted trees are:

. Howletts Sweet Chestnut, Howletts Wild Animal Park, Canterbury, Kent -one of the largest sweet chestnuts in the country, which has a girth of

more than 10 metres (33ft).

. The Sycamore Gap tree, Hadrian’s Wall, Northumberland - one of the UK’s most photographed trees which grows in a dramatic dip alongside Hadrian’s Wall and is famous for being filmed in Robin Hood Prince of Thieves in 1991.

. Old Knobbley, Mistley, Essex - which is possibly the only tree with its own website and is thought to be more than 800 years old, standing in land which was once part of the Earl of Oxford’s estate.

. King John’s Oak, Shute Park, Devon - a tree which has grown for more than 800 years in the medieval deer park at Shute.

It witnessed King John hunting in the park during his troubled reign, while the grounds were confiscated by Queen Mary in the 16th century because they belonged to the family of the recently-beheaded nine-day queen Lady Jane Grey.

. Mulberry bush, HMP Wakefield, West Yorkshire - thought to be the origin of the nursery rhyme Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush.

When the prison was a house of correction, women prisoners used to dance around the tree with their children and invented the rhyme to keep the children amused.

. Umbrella Tree, Levens Hall, Cumbria - a topiary tree which dates back to the late 1690s when the garden was laid out by Guillaume Beaumont.

It is 30ft high and is clipped annually with the help of scaffolding and steady hands.

. Original Bramley apple, Southwell, Nottinghamshire - the mother of all modern Bramley apple trees which was planted more than 200 years ago from a pip in 1809.

In 1856 cuttings were taken to grow in a local nursery on condition they were named Bramley’s Seedling.

. Chelsea Road elm, Sheffield - one of what are thought to be fewer than 1,000 elms left in existence across the country outside Brighton following the ravages of Dutch elm disease, and which is host to the rare White-letter Hairstreak butterfly.

. Seven Dials Elm, Brighton - more than 130 years old and in 2013 due to be felled as part of a new road layout.

A vigorous campaign by the local community prompted the council to redraw the layout to accommodate the tree.