The most frequently asked question! And one that can not be answered simply but there has been much research undertaken to help us understand better just how old some of our ancient yews may be.
Yew tree-ring report HRBS01/21-Bridge Sollers (researchgate.net) - Toby Hindson 2021
Analysis of a yew branch from the New Forest, Hampshire - Toby Hindson and Andy Moir - 2020
Estimating the ages of yews - Challenging Constant Annual Increment as a suitable model. The article first appeared in the Royal Forestry Society's Quarterly Journal of Forestry in July 2019 and is reproduced with their permission. Copyright is with the Royal Forestry Society and their authors, Toby Hindson, Andy Moir and Peter Thomas.
The need for a modular approach in cracking a 200 year old conundrum - Toby Hindson 2019
Addressing exaggerated age claims 2014
An investigation into the growth rates of large yews, made possible by Peter Norton's survey of 2012
by Toby Hindson and Lesley Elphick - 2012
Classification Protocols Part I. A new classification of the yew population of Great Britain and Ireland - by Tim Hills and Toby Hindson 2010
Classification Protocols Part II - by Toby Hindson 2010
by Toby Hindson 1998 (revised 2008)
by Toby Hindson 2008
An Empirically Generated Growth Curve - by Toby Hindson 2000 (revised 2007)
Fergus Kinmonth reviews current thinking on this controversial topic - 2005
Tree ring analysis of a branch from the Ankerwycke Yew - Andy Moir 2005