Ratby

1789: In Selected views of Leicestershire: Vol. 2 -Supplementary Volume on Leicestershire Villages and Places of Note, (p81), J.Throsby describes the tree as ‘a remarkable old yew tree on its stumps’.
1815: ‘A remarkable old yew tree which is hastening towards annihilation’ was described on p.885 of History and Antiquities of the County of Leicester by Nichols. J. (1795 – 1815).
Two hundred years later this remarkable ‘relic of an ancient tree’ continues to thrive. It is likely to be the oldest tree in Leicestershire, though a certificate for 2,000 years of age held by the church exaggerates its likely age.