Mrs Mann was a woman of the 20th century.
She lived together with her husband and her son Robert at the house at No.1 Gallows Gate Road. When her son was six years old Mrs Mann's husband died. Since then she rented a few rooms to guests who payed for them. Like all the other residents Mrs Mann felt hopeless.
Next to the house was an oak tree which she called Lofty. She wanted to cut the oak tree because it took all the light out of the bedrooms. However, she did not find the willpower to do so.
An alien hiding inside the tree. It sucked out the strength and energy of the residents. However, Robert was not affected. He still hadn't decided what he wanted to be in life so the oak tree had no ambition to feed on. The Tenth Doctor said that Robert was the only one who could cut down the tree. Robert did it and the other residents got back their ambition. (PROSE: Number 1, Gallows Gate Road)