A tribute to Percy Morgan – for his contribution
to yew data collection
by Tim Hills
Percy Morgan
“I find that there is something about an
old yew which inspires awe and veneration; see if this is true when
you go by the old tree next time you go to a church.”
This year Percy Morgan will celebrate his 89th
birthday. In his 70s he was actively engaged in finding yews, recording
them and sharing this information with the Conservation Foundation,
The Tree Register of the British Isles, Allen Meredith, Alan Mitchell
and anybody else who might make use of his records.
A letter to the Conservation Foundation in 1992
reveals just how active Percy was. “Again I am sending you
more yew tree records, this time, 150 trees in 31 churchyards. This
makes information on 513 trees in 90 churchyards.”
To ensure that his data is not lost he has allowed
the Ancient Yew Group access to his notes and measurements. These
will be gradually assimilated into our own records.
Below are two examples of his notes, in which he
records not only the large ancient specimens but also younger yews.
Much Marcle, Herefordshire
In the churchyard is a yew with a girth of 30
feet. The inside of the trunk is hollow with a 4 feet wide vertical
gap in what is left of the trunk. Inside of the trunk are three
seats; it is said that eight people can sit there. It is a large
tree with the boughs held up by a frame of 7 feet high pillars
most of the way around the tree, which grows south of the porch.
Copyright© 2005 Tim Hills
The east gate has a small yew each side of it
and they are clipped to form an arch. The east boundary is made
of yews again clipped to about 6 feet high. Although there is
only one big yew in the churchyard there are many within the vicinity
of the church. The old vicarage, which is a Queen Anne house of
1703, at one time had an avenue of yews of which there are still
a few at the far end of the garden. A 30 feet long 6 feet high
hedge of yews in front of the house is made up of clipped trees
one foot in diameter.
Llantilio Pertholey, Gwent
4 Irish and 7 Common Yews. The largest tree,
SW of the church, has a girth of 19½'. There are four other
yews with girths between 19' and 13'. On tree to the north of
the east end of the church has a girth of 5' with a gravestone
dated 1853 right up against it.
Percy has also discovered trees for which there
are currently no records: “The yew at Monmouth which I went
to see the other week is on a hill called Pwll-y-deon, just south
of Michael Troy, and was 20 feet at 5 feet above ground and I estimated
it at about 50 to 60 feet high. It is ancient, there is no doubt
about it, a good thousand or so years old.”
Our thanks to Percy Morgan. To keep such a large
amount of information in order before the computer age was a huge
undertaking. Those involved in yew research are grateful for his
contribution to data collection and his willingness to share the
information he has gathered.
It was with great sadness that I attended the funeral of Percival Frederick Askew Morgan on the 16th April 2008. He passed away peacefully on Monday 31st March 2008.
Copyright © Tim Hills 2005. All Rights Reserved. |
