Leinthall Starkes

Nearest town: Ludlow

Site type: churchyard

Access: Public

Church name: St Mary Magdelene

Diocese: Hereford

County: Herefordshire

Country: England

Grid ref: SO44177002

Lost yew site: No

Date visited: 3-Jun-00

Recorded by: Tim Hills

Protection & responsibility: Parochial Church Council

Yews recorded at this site: Ancient 5m-7m, Notable

Notes: This has been described as 'a simple church with a Norman foundation'. It is aligned ENE/WSW. Four yews grow right up against the building, two at the east and two at the west end. They were noted as a feature in many of the Gazetteers of the 19th century, and in 1866 the Woolhope Club visited and recorded measurements of the trees, noting the largest to be more than 20ft and the smallest to be 15ft. Since these are greater than measurements in 2000, we must assume that the trees were measured at the height of 5ft, which was the norm at that time. There is a tradition that the church bell was once hung in the branches of one of the trees. In 1988 the Conservation Foundation ran a 'Yew Tree Campaign' in the Country Living magazine. The largest of the yews here was measured as 23' 11'' (729cm) at both 3' and 4'. Based on this measurement Meredith estimated an age of 1400 years and a certificate was sent to the church.

Site files:

Leinthal-Starkes-2019a.pdf