 In 1935, a contributor to the "Sussex County Magazine" described "an old oak that stood on the roadway until about 30 years ago, when it gradually rotted away ... it was on the west side of the road, about a mile [north of] the old George Inn on [Portslade] High Street".Alternatively, it may have been at Mile Oak Farm further north.Mile Oak, also spelt "Mileoak" in early documents, was first mentioned on a tithe map of 1840; and the Ordnance Survey map of 1873 identified Mileoak Cottages and Mileoak Barn on the road (now Mile Oak Road) leading north from Portslade village to the South Downs.