There are at least 500
churchyards in England
with yews older than the
buildings themselves
Ancient roots
From Christmas festivities to death rites,
our relationship with the yew goes deep
I
n Britain, the royal family –
especially Queen Charlotte, wife of
George III – helped to popularise the
Germanic tradition of bringing an
evergreen tree indoors to decorate at
Christmas. It’s less well known that
the custom originally involved a yew
tree, or just a solitary branch. Yew was
used both in the British Isles, where it is
one of only three native conifers, and inGermany, which is home to a wider range
of conifer species.
Yews in fact have a rich and ancient
relationship with the peoples of these
islands, long predating the Christmas
festival. In pre-Christian times, they
were associated with death rituals and
important spiritual sites. So while many
of the oldest yews survive in churchyards,
these wonderful gnarly specimenswere already old when the churches’
foundations were laid.
The trees are male or female; in
winter, the latter bear red berries.
Curiously, a tree might change sex, for
reasons that remain unclear. Stranger
still, often only one or two branches
make the switch.
Discover more about yews in episode
one of the Trees a Crowd podcast. BH