 Good
practice can be celebrated.
(Red type indicates photo in the gazetteer)
For many yews the only intervention needed to meet health and safety
requirements is the placing of supporting props. Dozens of ancient
yews receive such support. Examples: Churchill
(Somerset), Overton-on-Dee (Wrexham), Rotherfield (Sussex), Wilmington
(Sussex).
At three sites, Bentley (Hants), Doveridge (Derbys)
and Much Marcle (Herefs) this has been taken a stage further
with the construction of vast wooden frames above head height to
carry sagging branches over a considerable distance. This has avoided
both the removal of branches or the need to divert the path.
Even fallen trees may survive if given the chance, as at Benington
(Herts), Cofton Hackett (Worcs), Craswall
Priory (Heref), Kington (Worcs), Lee (Bucks),
Powick (Worcs). 
Yew stumps do eventually decay. We know that the tough white layer
of wood surrounding the red heartwood (whose more rapid decay leads
to the tree becoming hollow) may take decades, if not centuries,
to finally rot away. At many churches a feature has been made of
the stump so that the much respected landmark lives on in its new
form, eg Goetre (Gwent), Hartshead (Yorkshire)
where the yew has been “dead now for over 100 years”
and Cantref (Brecon) where the ‘decayed
trunk’ was noted as early as 1834.
Stumps should be left as long as possible because it is not unknown
for life to spring from a seemingly dead tree. I was told that more
than 200 years ago at Tangmere (Sussex)
a hollow yew was considered dead and a new one planted to take its
place. The new tree apparently did not last long - while the old
yew recovered and today is a fine healthy tree with a girth of almost
25'.
This concept ‘past its prime’ is not
applicable to the yew, with its ability to regenerate from the smallest
amount of living material. It may indeed go through several ‘prime’
periods during its centuries of life. At Acton
Beauchamp, Herefordshire, the yew is undoubtedly in a transitional
stage and may not at the moment look the fine tree that appeared
in a painting 200 years ago.  This
pictorial evidence shows that half of the tree has disappeared since
then, but from the substantial stool fragment that remains (itself
20ft in girth) many new branches are carrying sufficient foliage
to fuel the tree’s recovery.
Neither does an ancient yew have to be destroyed to enable a church
building to be extended. When additional space was required at Buckland-in-Dover,
Kent their ancient yew was successfully moved
to another part of the churchyard. If this could be done in 1880
it should be possible to repeat that process today. There is no
reason why the Harlington Yew, under threat because of the proposed
expansion of London Airport, should not be successfully moved.
Copyright © Tim Hills 2005 |
