Englishcombe

Two yews, male and female grow side by side.
1848 – Rambles about Bath: ‘One of the most extraordinary vegetable curiosities in the kingdom – two ancient yew trees having grown together in the form of a lancet arch. From the centre a remarkably fine new growth arises.’
1876 – Somerset Archaeological Society: ‘In the courtyard of the farmhouse adjoining the barn are two yew trees, which have joined and grown into one another.’
1906/7 – Described as ‘two whimsical yew-trees, which have grown into one during a long embrace’. Source not known.
23rd August 1984 – Allen Meredith: Although the yews are quite large, they certainly do not appear to be very ancient, in fact at the time of my visit I did not think them large enough to be worth measuring. They are two separate yews, male and female which are joined together a little way up the trunk. I have not seen such an occurrence before and it is certainly worth noting. They are in a hedgerow which is on the edge of a steep bank. These trees may be worthy of further investigation.
2011 – Tim Hills: The yews were measured as 7′ 6” and 8′ 6”, suggesting an age above 200 years. However since they were already being described as ancient 163 years ago, they must be considerably older than 200 and are very slow growing trees. This is indeed a rare botanical curiosity. It is hoped that it will not suffer the same fate as the yews at Sutton Court in Herefordshire, felled when the house changed ownership in 2010/11.