Trefriw

In 1837 Roscoe recorded that ‘ancient Yew trees are here to be found in their glory, which seem from their gnarled and venerable appearance to be co-existent with the old church. About fifty years ago, one of these patriarchs was blown down during a violent tempest’. He goes on to note that it ‘had acquired from its size and antiquity the title of the Father of Yews’. More recently, in 1946, Cornish described a church ‘overshadowed by two fine yews’. Only one of these remained at the time of our visit in 2000 – a straight boled specimen growing to the west of the church. In the same year Pat Denne recorded 5 younger yews here, with diameters of 100cm, 100cm, 80cm, 70cm, 60cm.