William II green plaque

This green commemorative plaque records: Here stood the Oak Tree on which an arrow shot by Sir Walter Tyrrell at a stag. glanced and struck King William the Second, surnamed Rufus, on the breast, of which he instantly died, on the second day of August, anon 1100. King William the Second, surnamed Rufus being slain, as before related, was laid in a cart, belonging to one Purkis, and drawn from hence, to Winchester, and buried in the Cathedral Church of that city. That the spot where an event so memorable might not hereafter be forgotten, the enclosed stone was set up by John Lord Delaware who had seen the tree growing in this place. This stone having been much mutilated, and the inscriptions on each of its three sides defaced this more durable memorial with the original inscriptions was erected in the year 1841, by Wm Sturges Bourne Warden

King William II of England, also known as William Rufus, ruled from 1087 to 1100 and is remembered for his centralizing fiscal policies and military campaigns; he died under mysterious circumstances in the New Forest while hunting.