Blarcreen House

Information provided by Paul Greenwood – SYTHI – Scotland’s Yew Tree Heritage Initiative: This storm damaged male yew stands in a paddock north of the house and despite its battered appearance, there is plenty of healthy foliage in the regenerating canopy as seen in the eastern side. The trunk bifurcates at 50cm high into two stems and both are a mixture of exposed decaying sapwood and fluted bark. The southern smaller stem is hollowed at the base. It is believed to be in one way or another the last survivor of the ancient yews of Esragan, and as the poem shows, an area long celebrated as a centre of excellence for medieval longbow manufacturing. Only a partial girth measure of 290 cm was possible at the time of visit and was taken at 50 cm high below the bifurcation, approximating to 50% of the girth and suggesting the full girth at 50 cm high is between 500 cm – 600 cm or slightly more. Samples taken from a fallen branch were analysed and showed the yew to have an origin before 1650 at the very least. This confirms the yew is older than the largest yews at Ardchattan priory and is the oldest of its kind (so far found) remaining in the Esragan area. SYTHI would like to express gratitude to the Tree Register which supported the fieldwork to this site with a Vicky Shilling Bursary.