Blackwell

The 1848 Topgraphical Dictionary of England contained an article about old yews in Derbyshire churchyards. It described Blackwell as follows: ‘ One such a wreck we have shown in our cuts, it stands near the secluded church of Blackwell, in Derbyshire – an ancient foundation dedicated to St Werburgh. Many centuries have passed over its venerable top which is literally so thin, so starved, so shorn of its cedar like branches, that ‘scarce two crows could lodge in the same tree’. The stem is split asunder, and the base exhibits that ruddy bulbous surface that indicated approaching dissolution. It is regarded as one of the landmarks of the neighbourhood with much of paternal affection’.
Kelly’s Directory of 1891 also mentions a remarkable yew in the churchyard.
2009 – Tim Hills: There is no trace of the old yew.