During the Great Embassy to England, the Russian Emperor Peter the Great worked at London shipyards, studying the art of shipbuilding. The English were thrilled with the tsar. In his honor, a street in London is named after him, and a monument was erected in the port suburb of Deptford. Peter's visit is considered so significant that, for its 300th anniversary, memorial plaques were placed in London at the locations he visited. However, the main monument of that visit remains the tree in Sayes Court Park. The commemorative plaque on it states: "This mulberry tree was planted in 1698 by the Russian Tsar Peter the Great during his trip to England to study the science and art of shipbuilding."

In 2002, a memorial plaque was installed at the tree in honor of the 300th anniversary of Peter I's visit to England. It was also shortlisted for the British competition "Tree of the Year, 2017."