Langley Marish

1982 – Allen Meredith: “I visited the yew on December 20th, 1982. The yew is south from the church, and only eight paces away. At about 3½’ from the ground it measures 28ft in girth. It is completely hollow, separated and held together by chains, two main portions of trunk left. It is partly partitioned off by railings.Indications are that this yew was at some stage larger than its present girth, now it is a mere shadow of its former self, however the remains of the tree are still thriving, and the chains high above its trunk do give it some security, they appear to have been here for many years. This tree, like a few other ancient yews shows signs of being burnt out inside, by lightning or a rubbish fire.”
1989 – Allen Meredith: Revisited and found the yew ‘still looks quite healthy’.
August 1999 – Tim Hills: Chains have been stretched around the two fire/smoke damaged fragments to prevent further separation. Fencing around the tree is no longer effective. Girth was 23′ 3” (709cm) at the ground.
October 2015 – Peter Norton: The churchyard contains ten yews of which five grow along the north perimeter and five are south of the church. Nine of these yews are between 9′ to 10′ in girth. The largest by far grows near the southwest corner of the church and once was surrounded by iron railings. It is a male tree that has fragmented into two distinct halves. It has three main leaders and all are hollow, as is the remainder of the tree. Two of these leaders are held in place with chains high in the canopy. A girth of 23′ 2” (706cm) at about 1′ was recorded.