Taxus baccata, the Yew tree is of little importance in the scheme of things. The species was planted in cemeteries in the past and it slow growing. Certainly the foliage is poisonous but the fleshy red berries are temping to kids and I ate some with no apparent ill effects.
History records that Yew timber was used for making the famous English longbows - the tension between sapwood and hardwood giving its spring. The wood is hard and durable and I have read that a spearhead was found that was dated back 400 000 years!
But mostly the tree has been planted in churchyards and cemeteries - probably for mystical reasons in the early days, then as tradition.
I was in the New Forest in the South of England and heard that the oldest tree in the forest was a 1000 year old Yew tree at St. Nicholas Church. The New Forest had been set aside as a hunting ground by and for ancient kings.
I was fascinated with this headstone to the memory of Harry Mills - 'Brusher Mills' who was Snake Catcher in the New Forest. He died 1 July 1905 - I bet he could tell some stories!
History records that Yew timber was used for making the famous English longbows - the tension between sapwood and hardwood giving its spring. The wood is hard and durable and I have read that a spearhead was found that was dated back 400 000 years!
But mostly the tree has been planted in churchyards and cemeteries - probably for mystical reasons in the early days, then as tradition.
I was in the New Forest in the South of England and heard that the oldest tree in the forest was a 1000 year old Yew tree at St. Nicholas Church. The New Forest had been set aside as a hunting ground by and for ancient kings.
The church is in the Brockenhurst Parish and the area has been a religious place since at least an Augustine Mission 590 - 600.
A record shows that by 1160 Brockenhurst had become part of the great de Reduers field. and the Lord of the Manor was obliged to provide 'littler for the king's bed and fodder for his horse' whenever the king(s) came hunting. So Norman and Angevin kings probably worshiped at St. Nicholas.
Friends took us for a day trip around the New Forest and they had a 'secret location' for us to visit. I could not believe my eyes when we passed a small sign pointing towards St. Nicholas Church. I remembered it because that was the name of a church on Barrington Street, Christchurch close to where I grew up. So the tree association was in my memory.
We were indeed going to St. Nicholas church because our friend had on a previous visit found a small New Zealand cemetery. This is a well-cared-for memorial to First World War soldiers who had been injured and treated at the hospital set up at Brockenhurst. The soldiers buried here had not survived after being sent to the hospital.
Of course we had never heard of the Hospital at Brockenhurst, nor of the cemetery but it was a privilege to be able to honour the men buried there. When we arrived home a large book arrived in the mail - for which we are very grateful - it is titled 'New Zealand Graves at Brockenhurst' by Clare Church and it details the lives of the men and provides some of the history.
Our friends had no idea that the Yew tree stood in the church grounds!
The tree is not an elegant one, but it is large as far as a Yew tree goes and it is the tree that slightly obliterates the church steeple.
Never-the-less in 1793 the girth was 15 feet, by 1930 it was 18 feet and at present it is 20 feet - this is measured at 'breast height' = 5 feet above the ground [here in NZ it is 4'6"].
If I was living in the UK I would probably like to take cuttings and propagate a few plants - there would be little value and it would be just out of interest.
It is interesting to speculate who planted the tree (I guess it was planted and not deposited by a bird).
Say we accept the tree was established in the year 1000, that means it was 27 years old when William the Conqueror was born!
This certificate shows with some authority that the tree is indeed over 1000 years old.
We were indeed going to St. Nicholas church because our friend had on a previous visit found a small New Zealand cemetery. This is a well-cared-for memorial to First World War soldiers who had been injured and treated at the hospital set up at Brockenhurst. The soldiers buried here had not survived after being sent to the hospital.
Of course we had never heard of the Hospital at Brockenhurst, nor of the cemetery but it was a privilege to be able to honour the men buried there. When we arrived home a large book arrived in the mail - for which we are very grateful - it is titled 'New Zealand Graves at Brockenhurst' by Clare Church and it details the lives of the men and provides some of the history.
Our friends had no idea that the Yew tree stood in the church grounds!
Never-the-less in 1793 the girth was 15 feet, by 1930 it was 18 feet and at present it is 20 feet - this is measured at 'breast height' = 5 feet above the ground [here in NZ it is 4'6"].
If I was living in the UK I would probably like to take cuttings and propagate a few plants - there would be little value and it would be just out of interest.
It is interesting to speculate who planted the tree (I guess it was planted and not deposited by a bird).
Say we accept the tree was established in the year 1000, that means it was 27 years old when William the Conqueror was born!
