The churchyard yew.
A hollow yew by the lych-gate, open on one side. The parish council had a quote to remove it.
- Yew
- Taxus baccata
- Parish churchyard, North Somerset
Old yews hollow out as a matter of course: the heartwood decays, and the tree carries on as a strong, flexible tube. A hollow is not in itself a hazard, and on this yew the open side faced away from the path.
About 220 rings remain in the wall. The rings that rotted away can’t be counted, so the tree is older than any number we could honestly print.
The t/R rule doesn’t apply to an open cavity, so we assessed the wall directly: thick, even and sound all round. Recommendation: no work, a visual check every two years, and a note to keep mowers off the roots.
Resistance-drill trace
Bark → depth · the trace drops where the needle meets decay
“They talked us out of spending money, which is not something contractors tend to do.”
Parish clerk · Parish churchyard, North Somerset