Llanwenarth (Citra)

April 1998 – Tim Hills: The ancient yew has gradually leaned, pulling roots on the opposite side closer to the surface and raising the ground level. Its large bole supports many branches, including one prominent branch which grows parallel to the ground for about 11m.
2016 – Paul Wood: Large parts of this churchyard are a designated wildlife habitat and movement in these areas is restricted. This made it extremely difficult for visitors who had travelled thousands of miles in order to find family graves. The area around the yews was clear and I was able to measure this fine ancient specimen, recording a girth of 26′ 5” (805cm). This involved moving the tape up and down in order to find the lowest measurement. The tree has recently suffered a few broken branches, from gravity rather than the elements. The long limb running parallel to the ground has two thirds broken where it joins the bole. This seemed to be caused by the weight of the limb rather than from any mis-treatment. The limb’s tip has become embedded in the ground and prevents it from completely collapsing. Foliage looked plentiful but was generally thin and a large amount of dead wood was visible in the crown and canopy. The yew grows next to an ivy covered mound. It is developing areas of twiggy growth. A further 2 yews grow in the churchyard, approximately 30m ESE of the ancient tree. Each was about 10′ in girth. It seemed to me that these younger yews grow on an earlier churchyard boundary, since a slight curving bank was visible, though a fuller survey would need to be carried out to confirm this.