Description:The landmark has been spelt variously as 'High Shut', 'Highshut' and 'High Shutt'.
The old tree which stood on this distinctive raised piece of common land was part of Staffordshire legend. It could be seen from miles around, as far afield as Cheadle, Ipstones and Alton Towers. The fir tree is said to have a strange power, and generations of local people believed that walking around the tree nine times would occasion the sound of bells ringing, summoning them to death. The tree was also the meeting point for three young men in about 1810 all of whom later became MPs. One of these men was Lord Winmarleigh, formerly Colonel Wilson Patten of Lightoaks. In 1885 a mound was built around the tree as a memorial to these meetings. A replacement Monterey Pine was planted here in 1991.
A colour tinted postcard published by William Shaw of Cheadle