Castle Caereinion

April 2001 – Tim Hills: A split yew with the old dead trunk in the centre. It could become two separated fragments with ‘strands’ of living wood crossing from one side to the other. Girth was 12′ 10” (391cm) at 4′. It is number 8 on Paul Wood’s plan.
2016 – Paul Wood: Having looked carefully at the evidence it seems possible that this tree is a well developed fragment of a once much larger tree. What remains is well on its way to splitting into two, since at the moment only a slither of white dead sapwood holds its two sides together. Many internal stems are now external on the western section of the yew. As I approached the tree I wondered why the churchyard had been so well trimmed, yet a tump of long grass had been left around this yew? Close inspection revealed that the grass here could not be easily cut since it marked the position where parts of the original yew once stood. Here I found sufficient pieces of yew showing that what has gone once exceeded 20′ in girth, explaining the low, well spread mound. In the ground plan I have shown the visible remains as follows: The cross lines are the present growing part of the tree. In yellow are above ground areas of dead sapwood and cubical rot. In black is the long grass area with the remains of black cubical rot. On the south side of tree can be seen what would have started as internal growth which is now external, with new living wood clearly growing over parts of the old dead sapwood. The well manicured south and west side of the mound may have once held even more which is long gone. I also noted a section of old exposed root/tree, which hints of a tree that might once have been over 30′ in girth.