Llanafan-fechan

August 1999 – Tim Hills: A hollow shell. After decay it will become two fragments. The space in and around the tree was being used as a store for composting material and the tree competed with ivy and elder. Girth of 22′ 6” (686cm) at 1′.
March 2012 – Tim Hills: The area around the tree no longer full of composting grasses, though ivy and elder still provide competition. On this visit I was aware of how difficult it is to get close to the tree as branches have been allowed to reach the ground. This may serve to protect the hollow trunk, it might also in time provide layered offspring from the parent tree.
April 2016 – Paul Wood: As well as the ancient yew, a younger yew also grows here. Both trees appeared to have been untouched for some considerable time though the rest of the churchyard was neat and tidy. While the younger yew was relatively free of ivy, this was not the case with the ancient yew. I removed much ivy to be able to examine the tree and record photographic detail. Two internal stems were visible though clearly when the dead wood disappears this will look a quite different tree. The large branch at roughly six feet on the south side of the tree revealed many stages of life and decay within it. However when the decaying wood is gone the branch might collapse. The tree could not be measured as it was overgrown at the back or the east end of the tree. Clearing the ivy and weeds will be a major task.