The Dunster Yew in Somerset was described in 1898 as a “venerable
yew of large dimensions”. Girth around its remaining
fragments is over 25ft. The shaded areas on the plan denote dead
wood which will decay and leave three separate and oddly shaped
trunks growing at unexpected angles in relation to each other. The
dotted line suggests where the original outline of the tree might
once have been.
At Sandhurst in Berkshire 3 small fragments are all that remain of
a yew that probably once girthed about 18ft.
The first drawing shows the possible line of the original tree, the
second is an impression of what might happen as each of these fragments
becomes more rounded, leaving what might appear to be a line of young
yews growing close to each other. When looking at any unusual
clusters of yews we need to be alert to the possibility that these
were once part of a larger ancient tree.
