Yews are the thickest trees in the United Kingdom after the two species of oaks (Quercus robur and Quercus petraea) and occasional foreign redwoods and chestnuts.

According to the data in Monumental Trees website, the largest yew tree is in Leon, Spain and it has the fantastic girth of 12.47 m. But the largest British yew trees are not far behind.

Adornment of British churchyards

While the Spanish giant yew grows in a natural area, ALL the largest British yew trees, that are listed on this page, grow exclusively in churchyards near smaller countryside churches.

The most widespread explanation for this is that yews mark the location of ancient sacred sites and these trees formed a part of shrines. And, most likely, these trees are older than churches. Thus, these are not yews that grow next to the churches. We are rather speaking about churches that were built next to the yews.

But there are other explanations as well, e.g. yew trees are poisonous and, due to this they were eliminated in pastures. Cattle were not allowed in churchyards, thus this beautiful tree could grow there and, as the churchyards do not change their location, trees had enough time to grow undisturbed. Both versions might be right.

All the giant yew trees that are listed in this page, grow in Southern England and Wales, with one exception: the legendary Fortingall Yew in Scotland.

What is the age of ancient yews?

People love to evaluate enormous trees not by their size but by their age. Ancient British yews are a typical example: almost all of them are considered to be older than 1000 years but… there are yews believed to be 5000 years old (Defynnog Yew)!

There is a “small” problem with this: in fact, we do not know their age. It is not possible to count the tree rings – all ancient yews have been hollowed out. There are no written sources about their planting time.

We can try to determine the age of yews based on their size. Somewhat better could be estimates that are based on the changes in size between, for example, the 19th century and now – but then, we should assume that the tree grew with the same speed before this as well.

In real life the speed of tree growth depends on numerous factors: soil, groundwater regime, climate, lightning, shadow etc. The speed of growth of two trees of the same species may differ several times. A tree can grow slowly for long decades and then it can start to increase in thickness very fast.

There is an exception: a dendrochronological analysis of the yew at Loughton Church. It gave a very approximate result: this giant tree is approximately 1000 years old.

Thus, we can assume that giant British yew trees can have an age that exceeds 1000 years. But, most likely, not a lot more than this.

About the list

The list below is based on a single parameter – the girth around the tree trunk. There is taken the minimum girth between the ground level and 1.3 m height: e.g. if the circumference at the ground is smaller than at the height of 1.3 m, then the ground level girth is selected.

There are several pitfalls, that make this rule complicated:

• Old yews have large hollows. Over time these hollows divide the tree into several parts and some of these parts develop as separate trees. It is a tradition to measure the joint circumference around all these trunks, but… in a way, this is a kind of cheat because each trunk develops its diameter separately. Also, visually such a tree is a lot less impressive. Such yew trees, for example Ashbrittle Yew, are not included in the top-10 list but – they have their own top-10 on this page!
• The trees are measured at different times – in this article, the period between the measurements of diverse trees exceeds 30 years. The history of measurements shows that old yew trees continue to change their size – some increase, some lose some parts and their girth decreases.

The best source of information about British yews is the website of Ancient Yew Group!

St Teilo’s Church is a small rural church that, most likely, was built in the 15th century in Perpendicular and Decorated Gothic styles. Later it was reconstructed and rebuilt several times, including major works in 1884-1885 when the top of its tower was rebuilt as well (2.). After this, the church gradually fell into disrepair and in 2013 it was closed. In 2023 finances were awarded for the planning of reconstruction works.

South of St Teilo’s Church grows a wonderful tree – a giant female yew. Its trunk to some extent resembles a giant pumpkin with an enormous hollow. Inside the enormous hollow grows a younger trunk – an aerial root. The hollow gradually divides the tree into two parts. Numerous larger and smaller branches and trunks rise from it. Thick stems of ivy twine around the trunk – although ivy was to a large extent removed in 2023. The circumference in the height of 0.5 m is 10.06 m (2017., 3.) but, close to the ground level it could be slightly smaller.

In the churchyard are two more large yew trees. One has a circumference above 4.88 m (2014, 1.) and the other one – 3.38 m (at a height of 0.3 m) (2014., 1.).

References

1. Tim Hills, Llanarth, St Teilo, Ancient Yew Group, 2020. Accessed on December 22, 2023.
2. Church of Saint Teilo, British Listed Buildings. Accessed on December 22, 2023.
3. Yew/Yews at Llanarth Wales, Ancient Yew Group, 2020. Accessed on December 22, 2023.

Yew at Llanarth St Teilo’s Church is included in the following article:

Bettws Newyd is an ancient site with several archaeological and historical monuments – prehistoric burial mounds, Iron Age hillfort, a place of a Norman motte and bailey fortress. This is a beautiful village in an area that is dotted with interesting and exciting monuments of history and archaeology.

St Aeddan’s Church

According to legends, the oratory in the present-day Bettws Newyd was founded by Saint Aedan of Ferns (Máedóc of Ferns) before 570 AD but, it seems, there are no remains from these times.

The current church was built during the reconstruction in the 15th century, when a 12th-century (1188?) church was largely reshaped. The building stands on the foundation from the 12th century. It gave a name to the village: Betthws Newyd or the “new prayer house”.

In the later centuries the church was repaired several times, notably in the 19th century.

Today St Aeddan’s Church is a charming medieval structure. It contains some of the best preserved, unique medieval wood carvings from the 15th century. The church is in dire need of roof repairs (autumn 2023).

Giant yews in the churchyard

The largest yew tree – one of the largest in the United Kingdom – grows at the pathway towards the church. This giant tree is unusual – around an enormous hollow is a shell of half-dead wood and many branches and trunks rise from it. But – in the middle of the hollow rises a trunk of a newer yew tree. A tree within a tree! The newer trunk to a large extent holds the old shell of the tree.

The height of this tree is around 14 m and circumference – around 10.5 m.

The second-largest tree is some 12 m high and has a circumference of 7.15 m. This is a male tree. It has a single trunk but it has a sizeable hollow that is filled with new stems and twigs of the same tree.

The third tree is a male tree. It has a circumference of 6.24 m and an approximate height of 15 m. This yew has a beautiful, whole bole, but, most likely a hollow is forming inside it as well.

References

1. Yew/Yews at Bettws Newydd, Ancient Yew Group. Accessed on December 19, 2023.
2. European Yews on the cemetery of the village church in Bettws Newydd, Wales, United Kingdom, Monumental Trees. Accessed on December 19, 2023.

Yews at Bettws Newydd St Aeddan’s Church are included in the following article:

Llanawan Fawr today is a scattered community with a medieval church in its centre and several houses around it.

The village is named after a local saint Afan, a bishop who was martyred during the pirate attack in the 6th century.

The name of the village thus can be translated as “llan-afan fawr”: “parish-of-Afan great”, contrary to a neighbouring Llanafan Fechan – “the small parish of Afan”.

St Afan’s Church

It is possible that the first church was built in this location already in the early medieval times. The current church, for the most part, was built in 1765 (tower) and 1887 (other parts of the church) but the base part of the tower and many details, such as the north and east walls remain from the medieval times.

The tomb of St Afan is inside the church and is covered with a 14th-century slab with Lombardic script on it.

Interesting feature of the church is fragments of decorated early medieval stones that are used in its walls.

Around the church spreads its ancient churchyard which is used as a cemetery up to this day. Most likely, in medieval times it had a circular form.

The giant yew tree

In the churchyard grow six larger yew trees but one – to the east from the church – is by far the largest one.

This tree has a wide, tall crown. Close to the ground level its gargantuan trunk divides into several parts – three are enormous, two are smaller and there is also a stump. All three largest branches have hollows.

One can enter the centre of the former trunk from one side: from one side the trunk of the tree looks like one whole, while from another side, the yew looks like several closely located trees.

In 2015 the circumference around the trunk of the tree was 10.16 m, but in 1998 – 9.7 m (1.).

References

1. Yew/Yews at Llanafan-fawr Wales, Ancient Yew Group. Accessed on December 16, 2023.
2. Church of St Afan, Llanafan Fawr, Clwyd-Powys Archaeological Trust. Accessed on December 16, 2023.

Yew at Llanafan Fawr St Afan’s Church is included in the following article:

Loughton Church

The current Loughton Church was constructed in 1622 (3.), replacing another structure – a medieval chapel that was first mentioned in written sources in 1291. The current church was restored in 1904 and now needs a thorough restoration again.

Giant yew

Close to the eastern end of the church stands a giant yew tree. It has a single trunk with an enormous hollow. This yew is not high, its trunk is distorted, with bulges, ribs, countless twigs.

The stated circumference of the tree is 10.06 m (33 feet). It seems, fresh measurements of the tree have not been published for long decades, the stated circumference is mentioned already in A. Morton’s “Trees of Shropshire” (1986). Thus, we can assume that now the tree is even larger!

The tree is approximately 1000 years old – and this is a rare case when such a statement is based in data. A sample of the tree was carbon dated at Cambridge University in 1986 (2.) – the sample was 550 years old and the estimated time of 400 years was added as assessment of the time for the tree to grow to the sampling site.

Most likely, a shrine in this location was located before the construction of chapel – and yew was a part of it.

Interestingly, the depiction of this yew – already an enormous tree – is seen in the painting by Rev. Williams in 1791.

References

1. Yew/Yews at Loughton – churchyard England, Ancient Yew Group. Accessed on December 11, 2023.
2. Veteran yew beneath slopes of Brown Clee, Shropshire and Beyond. Accessed on December 11, 2023.
3. Loughton Parish Church, Wheathill – Shropshire (UA), Historic England. Accessed on December 11, 2023.

Yew at Loughton Church is included in the following article:

Ulcombe is an ancient settlement – in this area, people have lived since the Neolithic. The location of the settlements has shifted throughout the millennia, but, it is highly possible that an ancient shrine existed at the site of the present-day church well before the Christian times.

Ulcombe All Saints Church

The first church in Ulcombe was built already in Anglo-Saxon times but nothing remains of it.

The current church was built in Norman times, between 1213 and 1215 and then gradually enlarged and embellished over the next four centuries. The building was restored in the 1980s.

This is an interesting church with a wealth of medieval art, including wall paintings, sculptures and architectural elements.

Giant yews at Ulcombe Church

Four enormous yew trees grow in the churchyard. Especially impressive are two yew trees south of the church: the Old Yew and the New Yew… although the “New” one is not new! Both Ulcombe yews have massive boles that are more impressive than most of the British yews with similar dimensions: the circumference of many ancient yews is measured around several trunks that grow out from the former trunk or around the assumed former trunk that is not visible anymore. In the case of Ulcombe Yews this was not needed – their giant trunks leave no place for discussion or doubts.

The Old Yew

The Old Yew is the largest one. This male tree grows very close to the church and due to this its twigs were removed, opening a view of its giant trunk.

Some earlier measurements, that were made at the usual height of 0.9 m or 3 feet, gave a higher result: in 1892 – 10.72 m and 1955 – 11.48 m! But later measurements were made closer to the ground and there the circumference is smaller. The latest published measurement was made in 2013 and at the ground level the tree had a circumference of 10.03 m.

The Old Yew is very old. According to local tales, it might be even 2400 years old… but no one can prove or disprove this. Most likely it is younger, but there is little doubt that the yew grew there before the present-day 12th-century church.

The New Yew

The New Yew, according to folk tales, is “only” 1400 years old. Most likely, it is not THAT old either, but this giant tree for sure has lived through many centuries. The New Yew is a female tree and it is wonderfully different from the Old Yew. Its bark has a wonderful red hue and, if the trunk of the Old Yew is gnarled and with many bulges, the New Yew has smooth, elegant forms. Its circumference may include or exclude one protruding branch, that is united with the tree at the ground level. Due to this, the tree is measured at the ground level and its circumference in 2013 was 9.63 m.

Two other yews

On the other side of the church, to the northwest of it are two more enormous yew trees. One is a male tree, 6.2 m in circumference at a height of 1.5 m (1999). The other is a female, 6 m at a height of 1.5 m (2013).

References

1. Yew/Yews at Ulcombe, Ancient Yew Group. Accessed on December 10, 2023.
2. History of Ulcombe, Ulcombe Parish Council. Accessed on December 10, 2023.

Yews at Ulcombe Church are included in the following article:

The yew tree in the ancient church graveyard in Norbury belongs to the largest trees in the United Kingdom.

Compared to many other giant yew trees, the Norbury Yew is in excellent condition. It has retained a single, giant trunk, while other giant yews have a divided trunk with several stems. Its trunk is covered with numerous smaller trunks, twigs, and bulges and, due to this, it is hard to make an exact measurement of the circumference.

The circumference is measured at the ground level as further up it becomes wider.

History

The yew is visible in a drawing from 1790 and this drawing shows the stone wall around the tree. This stone wall exists up to this day, but, as the trunk of the tree has expanded, it has pushed the wall outwards and broken it.

Yew at Norbury All Saints’ Church was first mentioned in 1888 when it was noticed and documented during the excursion of the North Staffs Botanical Society.

Locals take good care of the tree. It is considered that the tree is very old and on the information shield it is mentioned that the yew is 2 700 years old. It is hard to check whether this is true.

All Saints’ Church

The All Saints’ Church was rebuilt in 1879-1880, but some parts of the church and the font inside are from the 14th century.

References

1. Norbury, Ancient Yew Group. Accessed on March 30, 2023.
2. Yew/Yews at Norbury England, Ancient Yew Group. Accessed on March 30, 2023.

Yew at Norbury All Saints Church is included in the following article:

Churches and yew trees

Most of the yew trees were eliminated in Britain during the 13th-15th centuries to obtain the sturdy wood that was used for weaponry, such as longbows.

Nevertheless, the yew trees in churchyards were spared. It is possible that superstitions helped in this: for example, there was a belief that the roots of these trees grow through the eyes of the deceased in church graveyards, thus preventing the dead from the return to the world of the living. So, who would want to unleash these apparitions?

Kenn Yew, like almost all the giant yews of Britain, is next to a church – here it is the Parish Church of St Andrew at Kenn. Or, rather, this church was constructed at the Kenn Yew, because the tree is much older than the church. The first church there was built before the middle of the 12th century, but the current church was built mainly in the second half of the 19th century in a Neo-Gothic style with parts from the 14th-century church included.

There is a possibility that Kenn Yew was a part of a pre-Christian shrine and the church was built there due to this.

Description of Kenn Yew

The trunk of this male tree (yews are dioecious, e.g. they have gender) becomes thicker with height, dividing into several trunks. Thus its circumference is measured on the ground level.

This is Britain – the natural landmarks there were noticed and measured already during the 19th century. In 1840 the circumference of the tree was 10.11 m – then it was measured some 40-50 cm above the ground.

In 2015 the measured thickness of the trunk was even larger: 11.67 m.

The trunk almost immediately divides into two parts and it has a huge hollow. The tree is healthy and we can hope that this fantastic tree will increase in size in the future as well.

Due to the enormous hollow in the middle it is almost impossible to tell the age of the tree. But it exceeds 1000 years and, most likely, is closer to 2000 years of age.

References

1. Sophie Nadeau, This Churchyard in Devon is home to one of the oldest Yew Trees in Britain, Escape to Britain. Accessed on November 19, 2022.
2. Yew/Yews at Kenn England, Ancient Yew Group. Accessed on November 19, 2022.

Kenn Yew is included in the following article:

There are four large yew trees in the churchyard of the medieval St Cynnog’s Church but, by far the best known and largest stands in the central part of the graveyard.

It is characteristic that the circumference of old yew trees is quite hard to measure – trees have several trunks, and the trunks are gnarled, with additional branches and with hollows. The trunk of Defynnog Yew is exactly like this. As a result, at the ground level, its circumference is 10.06 m (September 2014) (2), at 0.6 m – 11.58 m, at 1.5 m – some 11.5 m (1). When measuring the circumference of the tree trunks, as a basis is taken the narrowest place until the height of 1.3 m – thus the more exact result is the smallest: 10.06 m.

The other trunk nearby is also very large: its circumference is 6.29 m (2).

This giant tree over the last decades has been declared to be 5 000 years old, a kind of Tree of Life! But a closer look leads to a somewhat less sensational age (2).

Most discussions are linked to the fact that close to the largest trunk stands the other, a 6.29 m large trunk. Both trees form a joint canopy and also genetic analysis shows that both trunks belong to a single tree.

Thus: if both trunks would be fragments of a single trunk of a once enormous tree, then its age would be fantastic: around 5 000 years!

But, almost certainly, the smaller tree has been formed by layering, when a branch of the older tree reaches the ground and then grows its own trunk.

As a result – the age of the largest tree could be at least 1 300 years but not more than 3 000 years. (2). Which is a huge lot!

References

1. European Yew near the border of the church St. Cynog, Defynnog, Wales, United Kingdom, Monumental Trees. Accessed on February 19, 2022
2. Toby Hindson, Addressing the claim that the Defynnog yews in Powys may be 5,000 years old, Ancient Yew Group (AYG). Accessed on December 27, 2022
3. Yew/Yews at Defynnog Wales, Ancient Yew Group (AYG). Accessed on December 27, 2022

Defynnog Yew is included in the following article:

More than 1000 years old

This magnificent tree grows close to St. Peters church – a very old medieval structure, with the oldest parts from the 11th century. There are speculations that here has been standing even older church – but no traces of it were found.

Nevertheless the yew tree is considerably older than this church – the tree might be approximately 1 700 years old.

Revival

This is not exactly the age of the original tree – the main trunk of it fell down centuries ago. Back then there developed many sprouts from the stump. As the centuries rolled by, sprouts turned each into a large tree and then they fused together, forming a single tree of giant size. The circumference at the height of 0.3 m in 2013 was 11.04 m (1.), at this same year a very similar result was obtained at the ground level – 10.92 m (2).

It seems that Tandridge Yew has the largest girth of all the yew trees in the United Kingdom – if we count only the trees that have a single trunk.

Tandridge Yew is a female tree – it produces fruits every year. The tree has an enormous crown.

The tree has an exotic neighbor – outside the cemetery next to the yew grows a tall Giant Sequoia.

References

1. Yew close to St. Peters church in Tandridge, Monumental Trees. Accessed on December 30, 2023
2. Yew/Yews at Tandridge – churchyard England, Ancient Yew Group. Accessed on December 27, 2022

Tandridge Yew is included in the following article: